Extreme Rainfall and Soil Erosion
2016
- UW-Soils
Project Media
Precipitation matters a lot for agriculture. The right amounts of rainfall at the right times work in concert with the water holding capacity of the soil to provide crop plants with the water they need to be productive. The agricultural crops and practices of a place evolve to make the most of the local precipitation. Many factors about how this precipitation arrives matter: annual amount, seasonal amounts, duration of rain-free periods, number of rain days, and the nature of the heaviest rainfall events. The heaviest rainfalls lead to flooding and the potential for great soil erosion damage.