Effect of erosion on soil productivity: An international comparison

Drawing upon work done in the north central United States with the soil productivity index (PI), researchers from other countries are testing the applicability of the PI approach to quantifying the relationship between soil erosion and soil productivity on different soils and under different climatic conditions. Reported here is a comparison of research results from the United States, Hawaii, India, Nigeria, and Mexico. These results show that the PI approach is a promising tool, especially when factors in the model are modified to account for specific soil characteristics that differ from those soils in the north central United States for which the model was originally designed.