Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #73811
Title: SOIL EROSION AND CROP YIELDS

Author
item OLSON, K - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
item MOKMA, D - MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
item LAL, R - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item SCHUMACHER, T - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
item Lindstrom, Michael

Submitted to: Soil Conservation and Water Quality Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Soil erosion commonly results in a decline in crop yields. Reasons for this decline in crop yields may be complex and interacting and have been masked by advances in agronomic practices. This study was conducted to measure the effects of changes in soil properties due to soil erosion and the effect these changes have on corn yields. Trials were conducted on major soil types in the Corn Belt using modern high input cropping practices. Corn grain yields were reduced 18% for severely eroded soils as compared to non-eroded soils. Changes in topsoil properties which had the greatest impact on yield were clay content and organic matter content. Corn yields decreased as the clay content increased and organic carbon content decreased. Subsoil properties which had the greatest effect on yield were rooting depth and plant available water storage. When the rooting depth and plant available water storage decreased yields were reduced. Results from this study show that the quality of a soil deteriorates with soil erosion and crop yields will decline with soil erosion. Reduction in crop yields due to soil erosion as shown in this study has a direct bearing on profitability, thus providing an added incentive to control soil erosion.

Technical Abstract: The relationship between soil productivity and erosion are complex and soils are not the sole factors controlling crop yields. The degree to which yield losses occur for various soils are a function of interacting factors including soil physical, chemical, and biological properties; landscape position, the crop grown, management practices used, and weather conditions. More efficient agronomic practices frequently mask the effects of erosion on yield as a result of new crop varieties, management practices, and fertilizer technology. The objectives of this study were: (I) to measure the relationship of corn grain yields to soil physical properties and climate under conditions of high input management systems and (II) to determine the effects of erosion on the quality and productivity of important regional soils. The project was designed to minimize the effects of landscape position and agronomic practices on data interpretation. Soil, climate, and agronomic data were collected accordin to standardized procedures on eroded soil phases located in similar landscapes. Relative corn grain yield loss average 18% for severely eroded soil phases, when compared to less eroded soil phases, for soils with root- restricting subsoils the long-term productivity, measured by corn grain yield loss, was greater than the 15% threshold value suggesting a major degradation of soil quality. The changes in topsoil properties which appeared to have the greatest impact on soil productivity and quality were an increase in clay content (9 of 12 soils) and a decrease in organic C (10 of 12 soils) for the severely eroded soil phases. With increased erosion, the subsoil properties which changed the most dramatically were rooting depth and water storage capacity for soils with root-restricting subsoils.