When vegetation is removed (construction, road building, agriculture, wildfires, over-grazing, etc) we can increase the rate of erosion.
When we divert surface water or concentrate its flow, we can increase erosion.
When we increase slope angles (again usually during some form of construction) we can increase the potential for erosion.
Erosion can be harmful when nutrient-rich soil is lost, or when the eroded materials are deposited somewhere we wouldn't necessarily want them (say in gravels in stream beds where fish spawn). If you live on a hillside that's been over steepened (maybe to build your home) then erosion could lead to a loss of your home, and possibly even your life!
There are numerous ways to prevent or reduce erosion. Better land use decisions help us determine areas where we shouldn't disturb, or at least provide adequate controls on erosion and deposition. Often you'll see bales of straw, silt fences, and revegetating or hydro-seeding to protect disturbed areas. No till agricultural practices and better water management help soil loss in agriculture.
Preventing human cause wildfires would also help reduce the potential for erosion.
Touching, walking, running, handling, jumping, building, digging, grading, landscaping, mining, and littering.....to name a few.
We build homes in areas we shouldn't, we remove the trees and brush from hillsides and this causes erosion.
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