Soil Degradation: A Challenge to Sustainable Agriculture

Agricultural practices have a substantial impact on many ecosystems worldwide, and give rise to variety of ecological problems. Soil degradation is one the key areas in which agriculture impacts upon ecology. Soil erosion is a result of poor farming practices which cause removal of vegetation cover from soils, the use of large fields without boundaries to slow water movement and inappropriate ploughing techniques all stimulate soil erosion. Salinity of soil is another important factor which limits the use of this natural resource. In present review the causes, the cost of soil erosion and certain soil conservation practices have been discussed.