There are two types of soil erosion:
1. Sheet erosion
2. Gully erosion
1. Sheet erosion: In arid and semi – arid areas with less rainfall, the wind acts as a powerful agent of soil erosion causing heavy loss to agricultural land. Winds blowing at considerable speed remove the fertile, arable loose soils, leaving behind a depression devoid of top soil.
2. Gully erosion: Gully erosion is the removal of the top soil along drainage channels by surface water run – off. It is the type of soil erosion that consists of an open, incised and unstable channel, generally more than 30 cm deep. The ‘behads’ of rivers Yamuna and Chambal are the result of the gully erosion.