Excerpt
After seven decades of conservation programs that have consumed billions o f dollars of economic resources and vast quantities of human resources, soil erosion and subsequent degradation o f water resources remain serious environmental issues within the United States (US). Millions of tons of chemical-rich topsoil are lost each year from agricultural land, which contributes to environmental degradation.
Environmental degradation associated with soil erosion is frequently classified into two broad categories of damages, termed on-site and off-site costs. Some of the most significant on-site costs of soil erosion are as follows: loss of farm income, loss of resale value o f land resources, reduced output of agricultural products, reduced aesthetic quality of land resources, and loss of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides (Napier, et al, 2000a; Lovejoy and Napier, 1986). On-site costs are primarily borne by landowners and often serve as motivators for land owner-operators to take corrective action to prevent further environmenta1 degradation. Some of the most significant off-site damages are as follows: loss of wildlife habitat, loss of recreation opportunities due to water pollution …
Footnotes
Ted L. Napier is a professor in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development at Ohio State University.
- Copyright 2001 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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