An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion

Pasquale Borrelli (), David A. Robinson, Larissa R. Fleischer, Emanuele Lugato, Cristiano Ballabio, Christine Alewell, Katrin Meusburger, Sirio Modugno, Brigitta Schütt, Vito Ferro, Vincenzo Bagarello, Kristof Van Oost, Luca Montanarella and Panos Panagos
Additional contact information
Pasquale Borrelli: University of Basel
David A. Robinson: Environment Centre Wales
Larissa R. Fleischer: Independent Researcher
Emanuele Lugato: Directorate for Sustainable Resources
Cristiano Ballabio: Directorate for Sustainable Resources
Christine Alewell: University of Basel
Katrin Meusburger: University of Basel
Sirio Modugno: World Food Programme
Brigitta Schütt: Freie Universität Berlin
Vito Ferro: University of Palermo
Vincenzo Bagarello: University of Palermo
Kristof Van Oost: Université Catholique de Louvain
Luca Montanarella: Directorate for Sustainable Resources
Panos Panagos: Directorate for Sustainable Resources

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Human activity and related land use change are the primary cause of accelerated soil erosion, which has substantial implications for nutrient and carbon cycling, land productivity and in turn, worldwide socio-economic conditions. Here we present an unprecedentedly high resolution (250 × 250 m) global potential soil erosion model, using a combination of remote sensing, GIS modelling and census data. We challenge the previous annual soil erosion reference values as our estimate, of 35.9 Pg yr−1 of soil eroded in 2012, is at least two times lower. Moreover, we estimate the spatial and temporal effects of land use change between 2001 and 2012 and the potential offset of the global application of conservation practices. Our findings indicate a potential overall increase in global soil erosion driven by cropland expansion. The greatest increases are predicted to occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. The least developed economies have been found to experience the highest estimates of soil erosion rates.

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-017-02142-7

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02142-7

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