Scratching the Critical Zone: The Global Footprint of Agricultural Soil Erosion

Agricultural activities have drastically increased soil erosion rates and it is therefore likely to have important effects on the Earth's Critical Zone. In this paper we first investigate to what extent agricultural soil erosion can be quantified. We then combine this information with our current understanding of Critical Zone processes to assess the impact of agricultural soil erosion on soil functioning (biogeochemical cycling, hydrology, crop productivity) and to identify areas where additional research is needed to complete our understanding of how agricultural soil erosion affects the Earth's Critical Zone at different spatial and temporal scales.