Ancient Farming Practices Contributed to Current Land Erosion

Prairie Erosion” by USFWS Mountain-Prairie licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: USA Today

Despite recent studies indicating the detrimental current effects of man-made environmental change, scientists have discovered that previous logging and farming practices led to erosion nearly 11,500 years ago.

Examining a rock and dirt sample from the Dead Sea, scientists concluded that rates of erosion were caused by human interaction with the land.

It is believed that continuous human practices caused natural surface around the Dead Sea to erode which possibly caused earthquakes thousands of years ago.

“We have identified disturbances in the sediment layers that were triggered by the shaking of the lake bottom,” said geologist and lead author of the study Shmuel Marco.

“It will provide us with a 220,000-year record– the most extensive earthquake record in the world,” he explained.

Read full story at: USA Today

Environment, News
Environment, News