Loss of Topsoil: A Global Issue

Topsoil isn’t just dirt. It’s one of the most critical components of our food system since 95% of food comes from the soil. And with the world’s population snowballing, there might be less than 60 years of farming left if soil degradation continues.

Soil is a habitat for many organisms that make it a complex ecosystem and one of the most valuable resources for us, humans. Consider this: half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years due to erosion, unethical farming methods, compaction, loss of structure, nutrient degradation, and salinity. 

Loss of topsoil leads to the loss of fertile land, increased pollution, and sedimentation in streams and rivers. That’s why sustainable land use can help prevent soil degradation and preserve arable lands for longer. 

Let’s take a deeper look at what causes the loss of topsoil, its consequences, why it’s a great concern to farmers and the global community, and how to address this issue. 

Why Is Topsoil So Important?

Our planet is covered with an average of three feet of topsoil, the layer of dirt that provides the nutrients for most of the planet’s land vegetation and is critical for producing food from agriculture. [D. R. Montgomery, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations]

“Topsoil is important because food is important. Topsoil is what contains the nutrients that are vital for plants to grow. One of the most obvious purposes of plants is to provide food. Without topsoil, the dirt that’s left is, at best, devoid of nutrients, and at worst, a wasteland.

Topsoil takes a long time to regenerate, and if it’s being used up more quickly than it’s generating, there will become a shortage of topsoil. If topsoil is in short supply, food shortages will rapidly follow. Preserving the topsoil is vital to preserving food sources.”

Melanie Musson, Insurance Specialist at US Insurance Agents

What Is Topsoil Erosion?

Soil erosion is a naturally occurring process that affects all landforms. In agriculture, soil erosion refers to diminishing a field’s topsoil by the forces of water, wind, or through farming activities such as tillage. Erosion includes three distinct actions – soil detachment, movement, and deposition.

The quantity of soil eroded can be determined by weather, the surface of the soil, and the cover on the soil surface. Soil replenishes itself naturally at a rate of only an inch or two per several hundred years. And right now, the soil is being lost at between 10 and 40 times the rate at which it can be naturally replenished. This process is also known as accelerated erosion.

And here are the conditions that might be causing it: 

• Soil compaction
• Low organic matter
• Loss of soil structure 
• Poor internal drainage
• Salinization
• Soil acidity

Soil erosion decreases cropland productivity and adds to the pollution of nearby watercourses, wetlands, and lakes. With arable land shrinking and the population growing, degraded soil will mean that we will produce 30% less food over the next 20-50 years. And while soil erosion may not be a mainstream issue, it’s surely a huge global problem that will only worsen if we don’t take immediate action.

Consequences of the Loss of Topsoil

Apart from negatively affecting the crop yields, the loss of topsoil can also lead to:

• Water loss
• Forest damage
• Ruining of natural ecosystems
• Increasing the amount of dust carried by the wind
• The more rapid spread of diseases
• Floods
• Water contamination
  

The sooner we spread awareness about how much the loss of topsoil can affect our plant and our lives, the better we’ll be able to address this global issue. 

Top 4 Ways to Reduce Topsoil Loss

According to Val Bold, a flower and plant enthusiast and the owner of My Life in Blossom, here are a few proven ways to prevent the loss of topsoil: 

1. Reduce Tillage
   Tillage has long been one of the primary causes of topsoil loss. As fractures, the soil structure, tillage facilitate the erosion of the soil. Reducing it to a minimum will guarantee topsoil preservation.
   
   
2. Irrigate Your Topsoil
   Proper irrigation is fundamental to prevent erosion. If the topsoil is not adequately irrigated, it will be subject to wind erosion.
   
   
3. Create Wind Protection
   Creating an effective wind barrier will guarantee protection against damages and erosion arising out of strong winds. Ideally, a fence around your farm/ land will be the perfect solution.
4. Improve Your Planting Technique
   When planting your crops, position rows closer than you normally would. The crops will create a canopy faster than with traditional crop spacing, thus providing protection for the topsoil.

Other methods of soil preservation include:

• Leaving stubble after harvest instead of burning it off
• Rotating crops to add a vegetative cover
• Adding terraces in the areas with slopes

Of course, all of these actions require time, effort, and money. That’s why farmers need to be encouraged and appropriately incentivized to follow the best agricultural practices and contribute to preventing soil degradation and loss. 

The Takeaway

Even though the loss of topsoil isn’t the most popular topic, it’s undoubtedly one of the most crucial ones. Climate change, growing population, and advanced crop production technologies accelerate soil erosion leaving us with limited time to make changes and preserve the most fertile layer of the soil. 

If we don’t start implementing sustainable farming practices to prevent topsoil erosion now, we might need to look for alternative places to grow our food. So, let’s not let this happen sooner than required and spread awareness about the importance of reducing the loss of topsoil. 

At EZ-Screen, we manufacture high-quality topsoil screeners to handle everything from topsoil, gravel, aggregate, and wood chips to street sweepings. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help choosing a screening plant for your specific landscape or farming operation or have any questions about our products.