There are many causes of soil erosion in India. Soil erosion can be divided into several types:
1. Wind Erosion
2. Water Erosion
3. Gravity Erosion
4. Saline and Acidic Erosion
5. Alkali Erosion
6. Rill Erosion
1. Wind Erosion: Wind erosion is a serious problem in arid and semi – arid parts of North – west India. About 45 million hectares of land is subject to severe wind erosion in Western Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana,Gujarat and western Uttar Pradesh.
2. Water Erosion: It is more active in wet areas receiving more rainfall. This type of erosion is mainly seen in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and eastern and western coastal plains of India.
3. Gravity Erosion: It is an erosional process that moves rocks and sediments down slope due to the force of gravity. It may be slow or rapid and is found in the eastern states of India Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
4. Saline and Acidic Erosion: This process of soil erosion is mainly found in Haryana, coastal area of southern Gujarat, Chambal drainage area in Rajasthan, western part of Uttar Pradesh and central part of Andhra Pradesh.
5. Alkali Erosion: It takes place in waste land with alkalies in surplus and is found in the Rann of Kutch and the banks of Indian rivers.
6. Rill Erosion: It is the removal of soil by concentrated water running through little streamlets or head cuts. It is found in most of the peninsular plateau parts of India. This type of erosion is mainly found in central plains part of Rajasthan, south – eastern peninsular part, most part of Maharashtra, eastern part of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
7. Glaciated Erosion: A landslide, or the extra weight caused by the moisture going deep in to the soil during heavy rains causes a large layer of overlying soil to move. It is mainly seen in the high regions of Himalayas, Uttarakhand, Jammu – Kashmir and Sikkim.