How much is soil erosion costing us

Bibliographic Data

ID21322063
AuthorsJ Boardman (0000-0001-6252-8546, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume106
Issue1
Pages32-38
Publication date2021-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7487 • E-ISSN: 2043-6564
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00167487.2020.1862584
OpenAlexW3121292285
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited39

Soils have many functions including flood alleviation and carbon storage, and act as repositories of micro-organisms and archaeological artefacts. To the farmer and to society, soils are the principal means of producing food. However, soil erosion impacts on these functions over both short and long timescales. These impacts give rise to costs to the farmer and to others away from the farm. Estimates show that off-farm costs are far greater than on-farm ones. Muddy flooding of properties, sedimentation and the pollution of watercourses and reservoirs are among the highest costs. Yet, monetary values for some impacts of soil erosion are not available. In the future, climate and land use changes are likely to increase costs unless mitigation measures are put in place. Limited evidence suggests that well-designed mitigation schemes cost far less than repairing the damage caused by soil erosion

Activity-based costing · Business · Economics · Environmental protection · Erosion · Natural resource economics · Sediment · Sedimentation · Soil water · Water resource management · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Environmental Science · Geology · Land Rights and Reforms · Soil erosion and sediment transport · Soil Science

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