Causes of soil degeneration

The following are the causes of soil degeneration

• Poor agricultural practices such as burning of land and over cultivation or monoculture cause soil to be deficient in some mineral nutrient leading to loss of soil fertility

• other human activities such as quarrying and construction of roads interfere with soil structure leading to sail degeneration
• soil erosion interfere with soil structure leading to loss of top fertile soil
• excessive drought leads to accumulation of salts in the topsoil making it saline
• leaching due to heavy rainfall can lead to percolation of soil nutrients to the lower horizons leading to deficiency of nutrients to the topsoil

• Excessive or wrong application of fertilizers may affect the soil PH making it acidic interfering with soil microorganisms.

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