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Moles, Voles, and People
Think about moles, voles, and people in the dirt: Most people
don't think about it, but one of the chief causes of erosion are all the billions of critters that continuously dig up the soil in search of food and homes. Insects, worms, reptiles, and mammals all help to disturb the upper layers of the Earth. Once soil is disturbed, then wind and rain can more easily wash it away.
While it's easy to point our fingers at the other members of the animal kingdom, it's important to remember that the biggest culprit when it comes to biological erosion is humans. The amount of erosion resulting from one storm hitting an open construction site or a freshly plowed field is often greater than all the erosion caused in the same area by other animals working more than 100 years!
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