Researching gully erosion in Mexico

G. Bocco; F. Garcia Oliva

Excerpt

LAND degradation through soil erosion is surprisingly widespread; 35 percent of the world's surface is affected by some degree of erosion. One of the regions with the most severe problems is Latin America (261, and Mexico is one of the most affected countries (21).

Various erosion inventories (4, 5, G, 27) have shown that some degree of erosion occurs on 65 to 85 percent of the land. Severe erosion occurs on an estimated two to nine percent of the land, with estimates as high as 47 percent (61. An official report indicated that 40 percent of the topsoil in Mexico has been lost and that this loss represents a reduction in agricultural productivity of about 30 percent (17).

Local literature dealing with erosion is not abundant, reflecting the relatively little attention that the subject has received in Mexico. Maass and Garcia-Oliva (12) developed and analyzed a data base on local erosion and conservation …

Footnotes

G. Bocco, formerly a geographer at the Institute de Geografia, University of Mexico, is now with the Department of Urban and Environmental Studies, El Colegio de la Frontera, San Antonio del Mar, Baja California. F. Garcia-Oliva is with the Centro de Ecologia, University of Mexico, 04510, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico. Research on which this article is based was funded by the University of Mexico and ITC.
Copyright 1992 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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