Understanding and preventing soil erosion

Contributions by Prof Dennis Flanagan, Prof Laura Alakukku, Dr Miriam Marzen, Dr Donald Mullan, Prof Javier Casali, Prof Chris Renschler, Emeritus Prof Tony Parsons, Prof Debu Misra, Dr Peter Strauss, Dr Javier Gonzalez, Professor Brian Kronvang, Dr Mike Kucera, Prof Slobodan Mickovski, Dr Guy Levy Edited by Dr Manuel Seeger

Publication date:

30 July 2024

Length of book:

350 pages

Publisher

Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing

Dimensions:

229x152mm
6x9"

It’s been suggested that around 12 million hectares of agricultural land are affected by soil erosion each year. If the degradation of the world’s soil reservoir continues, many have estimated that this could lead to a 30% reduction in global food production by 2040.

Understanding and preventing soil erosion provides a comprehensive overview of recent research on understanding the mechanisms of soil erosion, as well as the best practices for measuring, mapping and modelling soil erosion risk in agricultural soils. The book also considers the range of agronomic practices and techniques available to mitigate future soil erosion, including the use of crop residues, cover crops, buffer strips, soil stabilisers and zero/no-tillage.

In its detailed assessment of soil erosion, the book succeeds in highlighting the potential future impact of degraded soils on the quality, security and longevity of our global food system if the problem of soil erosion isn’t effectively managed.

Part 1 Mechanisms

1.Advances in understanding soil erodibility: Karl Manuel Seeger, University of Trier, Germany;
2.Advances in understanding water-based soil erosion processes: Dennis Flanagan, USDA-ARS/Purdue University, USA;
3.Assessing the impact of tillage practices on soil erosion: David Lobb, University of Manitoba, Canada;
4.Assessing the impact of climate change on soil erosion: Karl Auerswald, Technical University of Munich, Germany;

Part 2 Measuring soil erosion

5.Advances in proximal instrumental techniques for measuring soil erosion: Javier Casali, University of Navarre (UPNA), Spain;
6.Advances in tracking sediment transport from agricultural soils: Tony Parsons, University of Sheffield, UK;
7.Advances in modelling soil erosion risk: Debu Misra, University of Alaska, USA;

Part 3 Mitigating soil erosion

8.Using cropping systems to reduce soil erosion: Javier Gonzalez, USDA-ARS, USA;
9.Assessing the effectiveness of buffer strips in preventing wind/water-based soil erosion and its effects: Brian Kronvang, Aarhus University, Denmark;
10.The effects of zero/conservation tillage practices in preventing soil erosion: Mike Kucera, USDA-ARS, USA;
11.The use of soil stabilisers to prevent erosion: Guy Levy, Volcani Institute – Agricultural Research Organisation, Israel;