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Soil Compaction, Erosion and Desertification

Nov 27, 2023

Conventional agriculture tends to also leave the ground partially unvegetated or barren and compacted, inhibiting water from seeping into the ground where it would naturally be stored to prevent droughts.

 

Furthermore, the lack of vegetation coverage allows for compaction to intensify with rainwater falling directly onto the ground, whereas its impact would normally be absorbed by plants. As a consequence, water runs off the lands, causing erosion on rainy days, in addition to the erosion caused by winds sweeping through the lands on dry days. Therefore, compacted soil in combination with the lack of vegetation increases the risk of floods, drought, erosion, and ultimately desertification.[1]

 

In 2014, the UNCCD estimated that the mismanagement of lands yearly causes us to globally lose around 24 billion tons of fertile soil, one of our most significant resources.

 

At the same time, this means 490 billion dollars of additional costs to synthetically raise the production potential lost with erosion. Furthermore, this directly affects the health of over 1.5 billion people due to toxicity and resource contamination.[2] Of course, agriculture suffers from the consequences of erosion, as the production potential is increasingly impaired when fertile topsoil is lost. But at the same time, conventional agriculture is responsible for accelerating and enhancing the process of erosion, leading to desertification, due to the mismanagement of land.[3]

Therefore, agricultural transformation built on modern science and the cumulative experience of regenerative pioneers can help us solve several issues connected to the ecosystem and human welfare.






Image: loganfoodgardeners.org/photo/soil-erosion-experiment



[1] Internet, omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/12-053.htm, 26.12.2021

[2] Internet, globalagriculture.org/report-topics/soil-fertility-and-erosion.html, 04.12.2021

[3] Internet, ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Agri-environmental_indicator_-_soil_erosion, 26.12.2021

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