Soil Erosion and the Iowa Soil 2000 Program

Gerald A. Miller, Minoru Amemiya, Robert W. Jolly, Stewart W. Melvin and Peter J. Nowak

Staff General Research Papers Archive from Iowa State University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This publication describes alternatives that landowners and operators can use to meet goals of the Iowa Soil 2000 Program. Soil erosion is a natural process. Most forms of agriculture practiced on sloping landscapes increase the erosion potential, which is commonly called accelerated or excessive erosion. Soil properties found in a soil profile are a result of the parent material the soil was formed in and the weathering environment present during soil development. Thus, provided a stable environment and sufficient time, soils have the ability to renew their properties. When a soil is experiencing accelerated erosion, however, removal of renewed soil properties occurs faster than renewal rates. In Iowa, it takes approximately 30 years or more to develop 1 inch of topsoil under ideal conditions where erosion is very low. This would be the equal to about 165 tons per acre. Therefore, tolerable soil losses range from 2 to 5 tons per acre per year for different soils.

Date: 1982-01-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:isu:genres:11462

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