Soil degradation: An integrated model of the causes and drivers
December 2025
Soil plays a critical role in seven existential challenges that threaten sustainable development of human society. However, despite this integrative role, humans generally focus on the use of soil to...
Advantages and disadvantages of terracing: A comprehensive review
September 2021
For thousands of years, terracing has been one of the most important systems for preventing soil erosion, conserving water, and increasing agricultural production. Despite having a long history, the...
Nature-based solutions for soil and water conservation in an era of climate extremes: Limitations and future scenarios
June 2026
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as an effective approach to address environmental challenges while promoting sustainable development. If properly designed, they foster resilient ecosystems...
Remote sensing of soil degradation: Progress and perspective
September 2023
Soils constitute one of the most critical natural resources and maintaining their health is vital for agricultural development and ecological sustainability, providing many essential ecosystem services....
Critical review of the impact of cover crops on soil properties
September 2022
Grasses as well as leguminous and non-leguminous broadleaves are the major categories of commonly grown cover crops worldwide. This review focuses on the contribution of cover crops to soil properties....
Using the USLE: Chances, challenges and limitations of soil erosion modelling
September 2019
To give soils and soil degradation, which are among the most crucial threats to ecosystem stability, social and political visibility, small and large scale modelling and mapping of soil erosion is inevitable....
Soil porosity prediction across Europe with a focus on soil particle density determination
June 2026
This study emphasizes the critical role of soil porosity as an environmental variable influencing infiltration, compaction, runoff, and erosion, which are inversely related to bulk density. An analysis...
Conservation tillage impacts on soil, crop and the environment
June 2015
There is an urgent need to match food production with increasing world population through identification of sustainable land management strategies. However, the struggle to achieve food security should...
Emerging pollutants in the environment: A challenge for water resource management
1 March 2015
A significant number of emerging pollutants (EPs) resulting from point and diffuse pollution is present in the aquatic environment. These are chemicals that are not commonly monitored but have the potential...
Detecting land use and land cover changes and quantifying soil erosion and sediment export using GIS and remote sensing in the GERD catchment, Ethiopia
Available online 3 April 2026
Understanding soil loss, sediment export, and land use patterns is critical for sustainable land management in the Abbay, where poor land management accelerates erosion, reduces agricultural productivity,...
Challenges and constraints of conservation agriculture adoption in smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa: A review
December 2024
Common farming practices in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) such as intensive and repeated tillage, complete crop residue removal, and biomass burning create risks of soil degradation. To reduce these risks,...
Global patterns of gully occurrence and their sensitivity to environmental changes
March 2026
Gully formation is a significant driver of soil erosion and land degradation worldwide and often leads to important downstream impacts. Nonetheless, our understanding of the global patterns and the...
Conservation management decreases surface runoff and soil erosion
June 2022
Conservation management practices – including agroforestry, cover cropping, no-till, reduced tillage, and residue return – have been applied for decades to control surface runoff and soil erosion, yet...
Determination of runoff coefficient (C) in catchments based on analysis of precipitation and flow events
June 2022
Runoff coefficient (C) values are tabulated and enshrined in hydrological engineering. These values are considered to be constant although they may not correspond to reality. In the same catchment,...
Quantifying the impacts of gully erosion on farmers' land productivity: The case of Shafe catchment, southern Ethiopia
Available online 3 April 2026
Like many areas along the Ethiopian Rift, the Shafe catchment is severely affected by gully erosion. Earlier studies hypothesized that this can lead to important crop yield losses and other socio-economic...
Global rainfall erosivity: Observation, attribution, and projection
June 2026
Rainfall-induced soil erosion is an escalating global environmental concern, yet the spatiotemporal variability of rainfall erosivity and its attribution to natural and anthropogenic forcings remain...
Influence of salinity and water content on soil microorganisms
December 2015
Salinization is one of the most serious land degradation problems facing world. Salinity results in poor plant growth and low soil microbial activity due to osmotic stress and toxic ions. Soil microorganisms...
A systematic review of soil erosion control practices on the agricultural land in Asia
June 2020
Soil is the basis of production in agriculture activities. The combination of intensive farming activities, improper farming practices, rainfall regimes, and topography conditions that taken place in...
Best management practices to reduce soil erosion and change water balance components in watersheds under grain and dairy production
March 2024
Soil erosion and sedimentation are among the most serious global environmental problems. Soil and water conservation measures have been proven effective ways to reduce soil loss. The objective of this...
Hydro-learning: Integrating AI with SWAT for multi-resolution flow and sediment prediction in data-scarce basins
June 2026
One of the main challenges in predicting hydrological processes like streamflow and sediment yield in ungauged catchments is the lack of calibration data. Approaches such as regionalization, parameter...
Identification and mapping of gully using machine learning and deep learning algorithms in the loess hilly and gully region in China
June 2026
Gully erosion is a critical factor contributing to global soil erosion and land degradation, posing a significant threat to ecosystem sustainability. Effective and accurate monitoring of gully erosion...
Effects of rainfall intensity and kinetic energy on hillslope soil erosion in the thin-layer Mollisol region of China: Field observation and rainfall simulation
June 2026
Rainfall kinetic energy (KE) is a critical factor influencing the early-stage dispersion of soil particles caused by raindrop impact during water erosion. However, the effects of rainfall intensity...
Comparison of approaches using MUSLE, USLE-M and RUSLE2 for large-scale hydrosedimentological modelling
June 2026
Mathematical models have been used to understand sediment dynamics in river basins. An important part of these models refers to equations for estimating soil loss. In this sense, there are different...
Recent advances in assessment of soil erosion vulnerability in a watershed
September 2021
Soil erosion is one of the most critical hazards adversely affecting both environment and economy. Assessment of the annual soil erosion rate provides information on soil erosion risk zones indicating...
A pan-European spatial inventory of agricultural land degradation
Available online 20 January 2026
Agricultural land degradation is a contemporary reality that increasingly threatens food security and socio-economic stability in Europe and worldwide. Monitoring and controlling this environmental...