In United States agricultural policy, Highly erodible land (HEL) refers to land that is very susceptible to
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...
, including fields that have at least 1/3 or of soils with a natural erosion potential of at least 8 times their
T value. About of cropland meet this definition of HEL, according to the 1997
National Resources Inventory The National Resources Inventory (NRI) is a periodic assessment of the status and changing conditions of the soil, water, and related resources on private land conducted by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The survey has been ...
. Farms cropping highly erodible land and under
production flexibility contracts must be in compliance with a conservation plan that protects this cropland.
See also
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Tillage erosion
Tillage erosion is a form of soil erosion occurring in cultivated fields due to the movement of soil by tillage. There is growing evidence that tillage erosion is a major soil erosion process in agricultural lands, surpassing water and wind erosion ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highly Erodible Land
Erosion
United States Department of Agriculture