Agricultural Land

doi:10.1017/9781108903196.017

12 - Agricultural Land

from Part IV - Managing Connectivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2025

Manuel López-Vicente ,

Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ,

Gao-Lin Wu and

Edited by

Anthony Parsons and

Ronald Pöppl: Affiliation:
BOKU University Vienna
Anthony Parsons: Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Saskia Keesstra: Affiliation:
Wageningen Universiteit, The Netherlands

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Summary

Farming has modified the natural dynamic of soil erosion/redistribution in significant parts of landscapes, triggering high rates of soil loss and accelerating sediment connectivity. This chapter provides a review of sediment connectivity in grassland, herbaceous and woody crops from knowledge to management. The first section explores the extension of farmland at a global scale and the process of agricultural land expansion. Regarding herbaceous crops, the second section highlights the importance of cropping intensity (one or two crops per year), water supply (rainfed or irrigated), and crop rotation on the sediment-connectivity magnitude. In the section of woody crops, studies done in vineyards, olive groves and citrus orchards describe the processes of sediment connectivity with and without soil conservation practices (e.g., cover crops). The section of sediment connectivity in grasslands includes examples in alpine hillsides, valley bottom and lakes, emphasizing their role as sediment-trapping features. The last section deals with sediment dis-connectivity in farmland due to soil erosion control practices and governmental programs, with examples from Europe and China.

Keywords

agriculture soil erosion connectivity conservation practices

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Connectivity in Geomorphology , pp. 287 - 313

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108903196.017 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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