The Environmental Effects of Conventional and Organic/Biological Farming Systems. I. Soil Erosion, with Special Reference to Britain

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Abstract
Soil erosion is a world-wide phenomenon having a serious effect upon many agricultural soils. Until recently it was considered that erosion in Britain was limited to only a few susceptible soils in specific areas. However, the increasing monitoring of soils over the past 20 years has shown that water induced erosion is now a widespread and growing threat to farmland in many parts of Britain. This increase in the incidence of erosion can be directly related to changes that have taken place in agricultural practise in recent decades, with traditional mixed farming systems based on complex rotations being replaced by increasingly intensive and specialised cropping systems. After a brief introduction to the world situation, the review concentrates upon an assessment of soil erosion in Britain; concluding that the threat to the soil is almost entirely due to water and not wind erosion. A detailed assessment of the evidence describing the extent and rates of water- induced erosion is followed by a description of the factors contributing to soil erosion. These factors can be divided into physical factors, rainfall, soil type and landform, which are relatively stable characteristics; and agricultural management factors, which have been undergoing steady change in recent years. The most important factor contributing to erosion is probably a reduction in soil organic matter levels, resulting in deterioration of soil structure. Other management factors, which often interact with soil organic matter, are: continuous arable production, converting grassland to arable, increasing cereal acreage, use of heavier machinery, tramlining, working up and down slope, the shift to autumn- as opposed to spring-sown cereals, removal of field boundaries, and untimeliness of cultivation. Soil erosion is also discussed in a wider sense in relation to economic, environmental and resource implications and, in particular, it is considered in relation to different systems of farming. It is clear that the soil degradation and erosion being recorded in Britain is largely a direct result of several decades of increasingly intensive conventional farming; organic farming, which is inherently a soil-enhancing system, does not result in damage to soils. The review ends with a series of recommendations for research which will help to combat the problem of soil erosion in Britain.

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