The role of trees in regulating soil erosion

Soil erosion by water or wind affects agricultural production and the natural environ - ment, and is one of the most widespread of today’s environmental problems. It results in impacts both on-site (at the place where the soil is detached) and off-site (where the eroded soil is deposited). The consequences of soil erosion include decreased soil pro - ductivity, reduced agricultural production, declining quantity and quality of fresh water supplies, increased poverty and political instability [40, 259]. This section synthesizes the extent of soil erosion, the on-site and offsite effects of soil erosion, the role of trees in controlling soil erosion, and the factors that influence the effectiveness of trees in reducing soil erosion. 95 The Global Assessment of Human-induced Soil Degradation (GLASOD) is the commonly used global map of land degradation [260, 261]. GLASOD estimates a total land area subjected to human-induced soil degradation of about 2 Bha (Billion ha) with 1.1 Bha affected by water erosion and 0.55 Bha by wind erosion [262]. GLASOD further identi - fied important soil erosion hotspots in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and the Andean region in South America [262] particularly in semi- arid and sub-humid climates at low and mid-latitudes

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