Research Paper

Soil performs many jobs for mankind such as providing us with clean air and
water, productive land for agriculture, and other necessities. By regulating water,
sustaining plant and animal life, filtering and buffering potential pollutants, cycling
nutrients, and providing physical stability and support, soil is able to perform its duties.
However, the management of soil to prevent erosion and maintain vegetation coverage
is often not given great consideration despite all the benefits soil supplies humans with.
Without soil coverage events such as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, where severe dust
storms occurred as result of poor care of the soil and lack of vegetation coverage, would
become a commonplace. In order to demonstrate the effects of soil erosion on water
quality and the importance of vegetation, an informative brochure will be created along
with a water filtration system that imitates the forest floors processes. An investigation
on whether various types of vegetation contain soil more efficiently and decrease soil
erosion will be conducted. As well as what elements of these different vegetations
cause the soil to erode or loss stability will be investigated. The effects of different soil
coverage and the manner in which these effects affect soil conditions and quality will be
studied.
Every plant has its own structure and appearance whether it be tall or short or it
grows its root deep rather than widespread. These differing elements are important
factors because each may have a positive or negative effect on soil erosion. There are
significant differences in soil runoff and erosion with respect to the different types of
vegetative cover (Mohammad and Mohammad). Experiments performed with different
vegetation cover on high erosion risk areas illustrated that greater vegetation cover can

greatly decrease the loss of soil erosion (P. Zhou et al). The relationship between water
erosion rates and root mass is exponential; as vegetation coverage increases, water
erosion rates decrease indicating that decreases in water erosion rates with increases
in root mass are exponential as well (Gyssels et al.). According to Ayed G. Mohammad
and A. Adam Mohammad in their study on the impact of vegetative cover type on soil
erosion under different land use, forests and soil dominated by natural vegetation
reduce the risk of soil erosion. In reality, soil loss reduction due to vegetation cover is
due to in part to above ground organic matter as well as canopy cover and roots
(Gyssels et al.). Generally, deep rooted plants supply the development of soil with more
than shallow rooted ones due to the passages they create with their roots allowing more
water movement, which in turn aids in leaching (Soils 101).
Each plant may affect soil erosion differently and the effects of these differences
on the soil is determined. According to Gyssels, Poesen, Bochet, and Li, vegetation
controls soil erosion rates significantly. Vegetation cover management is one of the
most important factors affecting soil erosion (P. Zhou et al). However, despite the
important role vegetation plays in controlling soil erosion, studies on the interaction
between soil erosion and vegetation are rarely reported (Zh.C Zhou et. al). This may be
due to the fact that measuring soil erosion rates in large scale especially is a time
consuming and expensive task (Mahmoudzadeh). Soil cover retains moisture, reduces
temperature, subdues weeds, and protects the soil from the destructive effect of
raindrops (Soil Health Management). Vegetation affects the development of soil by
providing the upper layers with organic matter, recycling nutrients within the layers, and

preventing erosion (Soils 101). Soil erosion prevents vegetation from performing these
vital tasks necessary to maintain the quality of soil.

Work Cited
Gyssels, Gwendolyn, et al. "Impact of plant roots on the resistance of soils to erosion
by water: a review." Progress in physical geography 29.2 (2005): 189-217.

Mahmoudzadeh, A. "Vegetation cover plays the most important role in soil erosion
control." Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 10.3 (2007): 388-392

Mohammad, Ayed G., and Mohammad A. Adam. "The impact of vegetative cover type
on runoff and soil erosion under different land uses." Catena 81.2 (2010): 97-103.

Zhou, P., et al. "Effect of vegetation cover on soil erosion in a mountainous watershed."
Catena 75.3 (2008): 319-325.

Zhou, Zh C., Zh P. Shangguan, and D. Zhao. "Modeling vegetation coverage and soil
erosion in the Loess Plateau Area of China." Ecological modelling198.1 (2006):
263-268.

Soil Health Management. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Soils,

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/health/mgnt/. Accessed 7
October 2016.

Soils 101. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Soils, 2016, http://www.
nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/edu/7thru12/?cid=nrcseprd885606.
Accessed 7 October 2016.