Soil erosion, as a biological process, refers to the detachment, transport, and redistribution of soil particles that is significantly mediated or modulated by living organisms, particularly plants, soil biota, and to a lesser extent animals and microorganisms. Vegetation cover, root architecture, litter production, and bioturbation by fauna influence aggregate stability, infiltration capacity, and surface roughness, thereby controlling susceptibility to erosive forces such as rain splash and overland flow. Biological crusts and microbial exudates further stabilize soil structure, while disturbances to biological communities (e.g., vegetation removal, grazing, or shifts in microbial composition) can markedly accelerate erosion rates and alter nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and ecosystem productivity.
More than half of Europe's soils are degraded. Researchers are showing that restoring soil through better farming makes both ecological and financial sense.
Agriculture
May 25, 2026
0
15
Cranfield University has launched a new soil and environmental online database and mapping tool, opening up detailed information about land in England and Wales. In collaboration with Defra, Cranfield's Land Information System ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 3, 2026
0
29
The technology used to predict sand and dust storm (SDS) severity has for decades systematically overestimated when and where sediment is transported across Earth's surface, a new study shows. Existing models, which draw ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 24, 2026
0
7
Desertification is accelerating under climate change, threatening biodiversity, food security, and human well-being across the Mediterranean Basin, southern Europe, and the Middle East. Water scarcity and land degradation ...
Ecology
Jan 31, 2026
0
36
Wildfires are devastating events that destroy forests, burn homes and force people to leave their communities. They also have a profound impact on local ecosystems. But there is another problem that has been largely overlooked ...
What happens as a raindrop impacts bare soil has been fairly well-studied, but what happens to raindrops afterward is poorly understood. We know that the initial splash of raindrops on soil contributes to erosion, but a new ...
Recent fieldwork by Griffith University researchers has highlighted an African country that is facing a rapidly escalating environmental crisis as severe gully erosion—locally termed "mega gullies"—advances across valuable ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 10, 2025
0
30
Beyond the disruption to Ukraine's food exports, the war is jeopardizing the country's long-term ability to remain the "breadbasket of Europe," because its soils are gradually losing vital crop nutrients.
Ecology
Nov 4, 2025
0
122
The global food system faces growing risks as modern farming practices undermine the resilience of the world's soils, according to new research.
Agriculture
Oct 1, 2025
0
591
Cranfield University experts have developed a new method to precisely identify soil erosion hotspots along waterways, allowing for preemptive mitigation measures to be put in place that protect land and water systems.
Earth Sciences
Sep 4, 2025
0
26
