ABSTRACT:
Most research relating crop productivity to soil erosion has been based on two assumptions: all soil properties of the experimental site were similar when first cultivated and the productivity of the site was uniform until erosion occurred. This approach relates any reduction in yield on eroded sites to erosion severity. Both assumptions usually are false because soil variability is high in landscapes subject to moderate to severe erosion when cultivated. Most gently rolling landscapes were shaped by erosion (geologic) even before they were cultivated. Within such landscapes, soil properties differ in texture from the original soil material, as well as duration of weathering. Soil surface shape and position with respect to other elements of the landscape can lead to differences in the amount of water available during the growing season. Few, if any, soil erosion-productivity studies have adequately accounted for the effect of natural soil variability in erosional landscapes on soil productivity. Baseline data from virgin soils are lacking in most areas.
Footnotes
R. B. Daniels is a visiting professor and J. W. Gilliam and D. K. Cassel are professors, Department of Soil Science, and L. A. Nelson is a professor, Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 27695-7619. This article is a contribution from the Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University. Paper No. 10592 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, 27695-7601.
- Copyright 1987 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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