Fields in the midwestern United States have lost on average 2 mm of soil per year over the past 160 years because of agricultural practices, according to a new study.
What to know:
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America’s breadbasket is losing on average 2 mm of soil per year due to agricultural practices.
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The loss over the last 160 years equates to 57.6 trillion metric tons of soil, despite conservation methods put in place in the Midwest in the wake of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.
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This is nearly double the rate of erosion that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers sustainable and between three and eight times higher than previously reported.
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Historical land-use records and cutting-edge computer models showed that tilling the soil has a “diffusive” effect, flattening higher points in a field and filling in the hollows, which degrades soil and reduces the ability to grow food.
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The USDA suggests that more environmentally friendly practices, such as no-till farming and soil regeneration, will likely be required to reduce soil erosion to sustainable rates.
This is a summary of the article “Rates of historical anthropogenic soil erosion in the Midwestern United States,” published by Earth’s Future on February 7, 2022. The full article can be found here.
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