Types of Erosion and its Factors

Soil erosion involves the process of breaking down, dissolving, transferring and precipitation of
soil by erosive agents which is water and wind. In Malaysia, rainwater is a major corrosive agent
compared to wind. Generally, there are two categories of erosion namely Geological Erosion and
Accelerated Erosion. Geological erosion occurs naturally slowly and over a long period of time
depending on the climate, geology, vegetation and topography of a place. Accelerated erosion
occurs abruptly due to human activities such as deforestation, clearing of areas for agriculture,
mining, construction of buildings and roads. The rate of erosion is serious and the process of soil
erosion occurs faster than the process of soil formation.

The frequency and rate of rainfall are among the factors that cause erosion to occur so easily.
Among the types of erosion found in Malaysia are splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion and
gully erosion. Splash erosion is the first stage of erosion that occurs when it rains. Large -sized
raindrops have a high ability to break up soil aggregates especially on exposed surfaces. The
impact of rainfall on the soil surface becomes greater without catchment by plants. This is
because, the soil surface exposed to raindrops in the absence of obstruction from plant cover
further increases the potential force of corrosive agents to excavate or loosen soil surface
particles. Soil splashes can occur as far as 1 foot (30 cm). Every 1 inch of eroded soil can cause a
top soil loss of 150 tons per acre or 60.7 per hectare. Other than that is sheet erosion that occurs
when surface runoff erodes and carries loose soil particles to a lower place. This erosion is an
extension of splash erosion and occurs frequently in sloping areas. Usually there is a
smoothening effect on the soil surface (Balasubramanian, 2017).

Next is rill erosion that occurs when sheet erosion is left uncontrolled where the soil is carried by
water flowing rapidly through small grooves. As the breaking and loosening of the soil occurs
continuously and the flow of water increases rapidly, the grooves become wider and deeper.
Beside that is gully erosion that can occurs when several rill erosions merge and have a depth
exceeding 30 cm. Gully erosion is serious, difficult to restore and can cause landslides especially
in steep areas. River bank erosion involves landslides on river banks by a strong flow of water.
This erosion is accelerated by human activities such as land clearing for development, water
transport (boats/boats) and sand mining activities. Sedimentation of silt as a result of erosion that
occurs in higher areas as well as bank erosion causes rivers to become shallow and cause floods
(Telkar & Neha, 2018)

Jafar, A., Mapa, M. T., & Sakke, N. (2016). Impak Aktiviti Pembangunan Terhadap Trend Kekerapan Dan Magnitud
Banjir Di Lembangan Sungai Menggatal, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Jurnal Kinabalu, 18. Retrieved from
https://jurcon.ums.edu.my/ojums/index.php/ejk/article/view/498

Balasubramanian, A.. (2017). Soil Erosion- Causes and Effects. 10.13140/RG.2.2.26247.39841.

Telkar, Shivkumar & Pote, Neha. (2018). Soil Erosion: Types and Their Mechanism.