Soil erosion modelling

Increasing rates of soil erosion in developing countries have been given attention for a long time. The increase in population pressure, inequality in societies, and sometimes also legislation have resulted in cultivation of areas unsuitable for crop production or in unsustainable farming which, together with overgrazing, are major reasons for soil erosion.

Alo erratic rainfall results in ecosystems prone to erosion, in particular in the semi-arid regions where the amount of rainfall impedes the establishment of good ground cover. Whitlow (1988) has estimated that average soil losses on croplands and grazing areas on Communal Lands in Zimbabwe are 50 and 75 t/ha/year, respectively, whereas the rates of soil formation are very slow, e.g. 400 kg/ha/year.