Impacts of Environmental Changes to Soil

Impacts of Environmental Changes to Soil
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June 5, 2022
Environmental changes are one of the most common problems that lead to disastrous effects on humanity. Whether natural or artificial, slight shifts and changes in environmental conditions could lead to significant disruptions to humankind’s way of life or even disasters on a larger scale. In this article, the author would like to focus on the impacts of environmental change on soil quality in various places since there are many environmental changes and soil effects that could happen, whether through abrupt natural processes or intervention; this article would be limited to those effects that cause significant issues to humanity. This includes changes in its internal characteristics and composition and its effects on the larger ecosystem. The author believes that since the more significant number of environmental changes is caused by humankind, humanity should exert a more significant effort in curtailing activities that lead to these changes.
Changes in Soil Composition
Drought and effects on Soil Quality
One of the main effects of abrupt environmental change that could endanger humankind is severe (or prolonged) moisture reduction, otherwise known as La Nina. La Nina is the phenomenon that happens when the differences between the regular ocean and the land temperature fluctuate, thereby shifting atmospheric moisture from one place to another. This causes one region to experience heavy rainfalls, whereas another suffers from land drought and arid conditions CITATION USNnd \l 1033 (US National Ocean Service, n.d.). This causes soil to lose its moisture and nutrients, otherwise known as ‘Desertification,’ thereby incapable of supporting crops and animals.
Although this environment happens randomly and naturally every seven years, global climate change caused by humans also contributes to this environmental change. Notably, studies show that because of climate change (i.e., global warming), the effects, duration, and extent of La Nina could become more severe, which means that the affected soil could also suffer from prolonged periods of moisture reduction. Ultimately, this extended period of soil drought can lead to various problems such as lower soil pH levels (acidic), lack of nutrient uptake and movement, and even “soil cracking,” which then makes it less viable for farming CITATION Kod00 \l 1033 (Kodikara, Barbour, & Fredlund, 2000).
Increase in Soil Erosion
Another problematic and dangerous effect of environmental changes on soil is soil erosion risks. Due to global warming, storms and other natural disasters usually cause many downfalls compared to previous centuries and decades. Accordingly, since rainfall and water flows are one of the primary mechanisms for erosion, the sudden increase in the volume of rainwater also causes harsh effects of topsoil erosion. In one article written by Yang et al. (2003), the...