Sheet erosion and gully erosion both result from running water, yet they damage agricultural land in fundamentally different ways. Explain the mechanism of each, identify the type of land they produce, and state one farming practice that can reduce water-induced soil erosion in general.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:30 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Gully erosion: Running water cuts through clayey soil, forming deep channels called gullies. The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land (e.g., ravines in the Chambal basin).
Sheet erosion: Water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope, washing away the fertile top soil uniformly across the surface.
Farming practice to reduce water-induced erosion: Contour ploughing — ploughing along contour lines decelerates the flow of water down slopes, reducing erosion.
Source: Resources and Development, Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation
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Explanation
- Examiners expect the mechanism of each type (how water acts), the resulting land type (bad land / loss of topsoil), and one named practice with a brief reason.
- Key terms to use: gullies, bad land/ravines for gully erosion; sheet erosion, top soil for sheet erosion; contour ploughing as the conservation measure.
- Terrace cultivation or strip cropping are also acceptable as the farming practice — any one is sufficient for 1 mark.