Which risk increases when water diversion into pre-Columbian agricultural terraces exceeds design capacity during heavy rainfall?

💡 Explanation

When water diversion surpasses terrace capacity, hydrostatic pressure increases because soils saturate beyond structural limits, causing walls to fail and initiate landslides, resulting in topsoil loss. Therefore topsoil loss is more likely, rather than pathogen contamination, decreased nutrients, or direct pest damage which involve entirely different mechanisms.

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