Agriculture and Water Erosion of Soils: A Global Outlook

Golubev, G.N. (1980). Agriculture and Water Erosion of Soils: A Global Outlook. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-80-129

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Abstract

The research interests of the Resources and Environment Area span the basic environmental resources -- water, air, mineral resources, and land. The existing Tasks within the Area concentrate on certain important aspects of these fields. The Task "Environmental Problems of Agriculture," which is associated with the Food and Agriculture Program as well as the Resources and Environment Area, deals with soil and water-related impacts of agriculture.

Agricultural activity requires from one quarter to one third of the ice-free land surface in the world, and has become a major factor influencing natural resources and the environment. The development of agriculture has caused and will continue to cause both beneficial and detrimental environmental consequences, but more often these effects are unfavorable. At IIASA, the environmental impacts of agriculture are studied at different levels of spatial resolution, from the field to the global level. The impacts are also studied from various time perspectives. This paper assesses changes in soil erosion due to agriculture throughout the world. The time span covered stretches from the preagricultural period to the present, and on to the future, when all arable lands might be cultivated.

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