Soil erosion in west africa

Soil erosion is the wearing or washing away of the soil surface or top soil either by water or by wind .

Types of water erosion
i. Splash erosion

ii. Sheet erosion

iii. Rill erosion

iv. Gully erosion

water erosion can be control by the following

1. Agronomic practices: these include vegetative cover, cropping systems (e.g. mixed
   cropping, compound cropping,or complex cropping strip cropping, intercropping and contour cropping).
2. Engineering practices:
   Contour bounding: making
   embankment with a
   narrow base at intervals across the
   slope and along the contour.
   Gully plugging: this done
   with live edges, earth,
   sand bags, brick masonry and
   boulders.

Small gully can be
controlled by clearing,
levelling and constructing
diversion/check bunds and
disposal of excess runoff
at the end of the bounds
into grassed slope.
Wind erosion
This is the movement of soil and loss by the action of wind.

Control of wind erosion are the following.

i. Construction of windbreak and shelterbelts to protect the soil.
ii. Cropping system e.g. cover cropping, strip cropping
iii. Residue of crop left over following harvest
iv. Avoidance of overgrazing
v. Vegetative cover to help and assit the soil.