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Countries and the global rate of soil erosion

Author

Listed:
  • David Wuepper

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Pasquale Borrelli

    (University of Basel)

  • Robert Finger

    (ETH Zurich)

Abstract

Soil erosion is a major threat to food security and ecosystem viability, as current rates are orders of magnitude higher than natural soil formation. Governments around the world are trying to address the issue of soil erosion. However, we do not know whether countries have much actual control over their soil erosion. Here, we use a high-resolution, global dataset with over 35 million observations and a spatial regression discontinuity design to identify how much of the global rate of soil erosion is actually affected by countries and which country characteristics, including their policies, are associated with this. Overall, moving just across the border from one country to the next, the rate of soil erosion changes on average by ~1.4 t ha−1 yr−1, which reveals a surprisingly large country effect. The best explanation we find is countries’ agricultural characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • David Wuepper & Pasquale Borrelli & Robert Finger, 2020. "Countries and the global rate of soil erosion," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 51-55, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:3:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41893-019-0438-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0438-4
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Arne Henningsen & Guy Low & David Wuepper & Tobias Dalhaus & Hugo Storm & Dagim Belay & Stefan Hirsch, 2024. "Estimating Causal Effects with Observational Data: Guidelines for Agricultural and Applied Economists," IFRO Working Paper 2024/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    2. Wenfeng Chi & Yuanyuan Zhao & Wenhui Kuang & Tao Pan & Tu Ba & Jinshen Zhao & Liang Jin & Sisi Wang, 2021. "Impact of Cropland Evolution on Soil Wind Erosion in Inner Mongolia of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    3. David Wuepper & Robert Finger, 2023. "Regression discontinuity designs in agricultural and environmental economics," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(1), pages 1-28.
    4. Miranda, Javier & Börner, Jan, 2021. "Farm-Level Impacts of Shifts in Conservation Policy Regimes in Brazil’s Arc of Deforestation," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315225, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Nguyen Huy, Tung, 2023. "Fostering sustainable land management in sub-Saharan Africa : Evidence from Ghana and Burkina Faso," Other publications TiSEM 850a17c1-77ce-468e-9676-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Engist, Dennis & Finger, Robert & Knaus, Peter & Guélat, Jérôme & Wuepper, David, 2023. "Agricultural systems and biodiversity: evidence from European borders and bird populations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    7. Haoying Wang & Rafael Garduno-Rivera, 2021. "The economics of international borders," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 1-7, February.
    8. Möhring, Niklas & Dalhaus, Tobias & Enjolras, Geoffroy & Finger, Robert, 2020. "Crop insurance and pesticide use in European agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    9. Liu, Min & Xu, Wenli & Zhang, Hangyu & Chen, Huang & Bie, Qiang & Han, Guodong & Yu, Xiaohua, 2022. "Livestock production, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and grassland conservation: Quasi-natural experimental evidence," MPRA Paper 115704, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Wang, Jingyu & Wang, Zhen & Li, Keke & Li, Cai & Wen, Fang & Shi, Zhihua, 2023. "Factors affecting phase change in coupling coordination between population, crop yield, and soil erosion in China’s 281 cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    11. Li, Linyang & Chen, Peng & Wang, Kaili & Zhang, Runqin & Yuan, Xiaoliang & Ge, Le & Li, Qian & Liu, Yi & Zhang, Xiaoquan & Li, Zhiguo, 2023. "Gramineae-legumes mixed planting effectively reduces soil and nutrient loss in orchards," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    12. Sen Chakraborty, Kritika & Chakraborty, Avinandan & Berrens, Robert P., 2023. "Valuing soil erosion control investments in Nigerian agricultural lands: A hedonic pricing model," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Liu, Yansui & Zhou, Yang, 2021. "Reflections on China's food security and land use policy under rapid urbanization," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    14. Hanchen Zhuang & Yixin Wang & Hang Liu & Sijia Wang & Wanqiu Zhang & Shuliang Zhang & Qiang Dai, 2021. "Large-Scale Soil Erosion Estimation Considering Vegetation Growth Cycle," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.

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