Editing Soil erosion (section)

===Climate change===
{{Main|Land degradation}}

The warmer atmospheric temperatures observed over the past decades are expected to lead to a more vigorous hydrological cycle, including more extreme rainfall events.<ref>{{cite web|author=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)|year=1995|title=Second Assessment Synthesis of Scientific-Technical Information relevant to interpreting Article 2 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change|page=5|url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/climate-changes-1995/2nd-assessment-synthesis.pdf|access-date=2015-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309040926/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/climate-changes-1995/2nd-assessment-synthesis.pdf|archive-date=2013-03-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[rise in sea levels]] that has occurred as a result of climate change has also greatly increased coastal erosion rates.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Bicknell, Jane|display-editors=etal|title=Adapting Cities to Climate Change: Understanding and Addressing the Development Challenges|publisher=Earthscan|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84407-745-8|page=114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77Kmhw6sVOMC&pg=PA114}}</ref><ref>For an overview of other human activities that have increased coastal erosion rates, see: {{cite book|author=Goudie, Andrew|chapter=Accelerated coastal erosion|title=The Human Impact on the Natural Environment|publisher=MIT Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-262-57138-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/humanimpactonn00goud/page/311 311]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8l-DMj3XTgC&pg=PA311|url=https://archive.org/details/humanimpactonn00goud/page/311}}</ref>
[[File:Ghana Flooding 2.jpg|thumb|Most part of Accra mostly flooded during rainy season, causing environmental crisis in Ghana]]
Studies on soil erosion suggest that increased rainfall amounts and intensities will lead to greater rates of soil erosion. Thus, if rainfall amounts and intensities increase in many parts of the world as expected, erosion will also increase, unless amelioration measures are taken. Soil erosion rates are expected to change in response to changes in climate for a variety of reasons. The most direct is the change in the erosive power of rainfall. Other reasons include: a) changes in plant canopy caused by shifts in plant biomass production associated with moisture regime; b) changes in litter cover on the ground caused by changes in both plant residue decomposition rates driven by temperature and moisture dependent soil microbial activity as well as plant biomass production rates; c) changes in soil moisture due to shifting precipitation regimes and evapo-transpiration rates, which changes infiltration and runoff ratios; d) soil [[erodibility]] changes due to decrease in [[soil organic matter]] concentrations in soils that lead to a soil structure that is more susceptible to erosion and increased runoff due to increased [[soil surface sealing]] and crusting; e) a shift of winter precipitation from non-erosive snow to erosive rainfall due to increasing winter temperatures; f) melting of permafrost, which induces an erodible soil state from a previously non-erodible one; and g) shifts in land use made necessary to accommodate new climatic regimes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Klik|first1=A.|last2=Eitzinger|first2=J.|date=October 2010|title=Impact of climate change on soil erosion and the efficiency of soil conservation practices in Austria|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0021859610000158/type/journal_article|journal=The Journal of Agricultural Science|language=en|volume=148|issue=5|pages=529–541|doi=10.1017/S0021859610000158|bibcode=2010EGUGA..12.5412K|s2cid=86550618|issn=0021-8596}}</ref>

Studies by Pruski and Nearing indicated that, other factors such as land use unconsidered, it is reasonable to expect approximately a 1.7% change in soil erosion for each 1% change in total precipitation under climate change.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pruski |first1=F. F. |first2=M. A. |last2=Nearing |year=2002 |title=Runoff and soil loss responses to changes in precipitation: a computer simulation study |journal=Journal of Soil and Water Conservation |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=7–16 |url=http://www.jswconline.org/content/57/1/7.abstract }}</ref> In recent studies, there are predicted increases of rainfall erosivity by 17% in the United States,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nearing|first1=M. A.|last2=Pruski|first2=F. F.|last3=O'Neal|first3=M. R.|date=2004-01-01|title=Expected climate change impacts on soil erosion rates: A review|url=http://www.jswconline.org/content/59/1/43|journal=Journal of Soil and Water Conservation|language=en|volume=59|issue=1|pages=43–50|issn=0022-4561}}</ref> by 18% in Europe,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Panagos|first1=Panos|last2=Ballabio|first2=Cristiano|last3=Meusburger|first3=Katrin|last4=Spinoni|first4=Jonathan|last5=Alewell|first5=Christine|last6=Borrelli|first6=Pasquale|title=Towards estimates of future rainfall erosivity in Europe based on REDES and WorldClim datasets|journal=Journal of Hydrology|volume=548|pages=251–262|doi=10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.03.006|pmid=28649140|pmc=5473165|year=2017|bibcode=2017JHyd..548..251P}}</ref> and globally 30 to 66%<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|last1=Borrelli|first1=Pasquale|last2=Robinson|first2=David A.|last3=Panagos|first3=Panos|last4=Lugato|first4=Emanuele|last5=Yang|first5=Jae E.|last6=Alewell|first6=Christine|last7=Wuepper|first7=David|last8=Montanarella|first8=Luca|last9=Ballabio|first9=Cristiano|date=2020-09-08|title=Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070)|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=117|issue=36|pages=21994–22001|doi=10.1073/pnas.2001403117|issn=0027-8424|pmid=32839306|pmc=7486701|bibcode=2020PNAS..11721994B|doi-access=free}}</ref>