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Edited by Pamela A. Matson, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and approved July 11, 2007 (received for review January 3, 2007)
Abstract
Data drawn from a global compilation of studies quantitatively confirm the long-articulated contention that erosion rates from conventionally plowed agricultural fields average 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than rates of soil production, erosion under native vegetation, and long-term geological erosion. The general equivalence of the latter indicates that, considered globally, hillslope soil production and erosion evolve to balance geologic and climate forcing, whereas conventional plow-based agriculture increases erosion rates enough to prove unsustainable. In contrast to how net soil erosion rates in conventionally plowed fields (≈1 mm/yr) can erode through a typical hillslope soil profile over time scales comparable to the longevity of major civilizations, no-till agriculture produces erosion rates much closer to soil production rates and therefore could provide a foundation for sustainable agriculture.
Footnotes
- E-mail: dave{at}ess.washington.edu
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Author contributions: D.R.M. designed research, performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the paper.
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The author declares no conflict of interest.
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This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0611508104/DC1.
- Abbreviation:
- USDA,
- U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability
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