Soil is the major natural resource on which society depends for the production of food, feed, fiber, and wood products. Soil degradation, through human activities and natural forces, has reduced the productivity of our soils and damaged adjacent ecosystems. Soil degradation can result from accelerated soil erosion, loss of vegetative cover, oxidation of soil organic matter, and impairment of other soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Worldwide, erosion by water, wind, tillage, and irrigation remains a major cause of soil degradation and a primary environmental concern. Equipment traffic, grazing, and natural consolidation can cause soil compaction, which restricts root growth and movement of water, air, and chemicals. Poor land management can cause accelerated soil acidification and buildup of sodium and other soluble salts. Mining and industrial activities and improper use of municipal and industrial byproducts and animal manures can cause buildup of excess nutrients and toxic trace elements in soils. Effective and economically feasible methods are needed to control soil erosion, prevent soil compaction, and remediate soils degraded by soil erosion, compaction, or contamination.

On-site impacts of erosion include reduced productivity through loss of plant nutrients and organic matter and frequently the ability for the soil to absorb and retain water for subsequent plant use. Erosion also can lead to loss of applied fertilizers and chemicals, reduced seedling survival and growth, increased susceptibility of plants to disease and other pests, and decreased marketability of fruits and vegetables. Off-site damages can have significant environmental and economic impact including sedimentation of waterways, downstream damage to land and structures (e.g., bridges, buildings, and roads) due to increased runoff, degradation of water quality by salinization, presence of toxic elements and other chemicals, and reduced air quality because of wind-borne soil particles.

In addition to wind, water, and tillage erosion, soil resources can be degraded through several other processes. For example, land continues to be used as a sink for waste products derived from industrial and agricultural production as well as from urban living. Some sites are sufficiently toxic that crops grown on those soils are considered unfit for human consumption. Sites that have been surface-mined and abandoned also require restoration to support plant life and thus regain some degree of productivity.

For decades, land managers have had the means to reduce soil erosion rates, slow soil degradation, and remediate contaminated or highly disturbed soils. Often, however, the technologies are too expensive to be economically feasible. The challenge for this national program component is to develop cost-effective management strategies and technologies that will reduce compaction and erosion and help restore previously degraded or contaminated sites.

A Nation with productive and sustainable soil resources

To develop the knowledge and methods necessary to maintain healthy soils in a productive and sustainable condition and to remediate soils previously degraded through erosion, compaction, over-fertilization, contamination, mining, or other physical, chemical or biological disturbance.

Table 1. ARS research locations conducting research contributing to specific problem areas within the Soil Conservation and Restoration Component of the Soil Resource Management National Program

State	Location	Problem Area
		Erosion: Wind, Rain, Irrigation, Tillage	Compaction	Remediation & Restoration
AL	Auburn		X	X
AR	Booneville
AR	Fayetteville
AZ	Phoenix	X
AZ	Tucson	X
CA	Davis
CA	Fresno	X		X
CA	Riverside			X
CA	Salinas
CO	Akron
CO	Ft. Collins
FL	Gainesville
FL	Miami			X
GA	Tifton			X
GA	Watkinsville		X
IA	Ames	X	X
ID	Kimberly	X	X	X
IL	Urbana	X
IN	West Lafayette	X		X
KS	Manhattan	X
LA	Baton Rouge
ME	Orono	X
MD	Beltsville	X		X
MN	Morris	X	X
MN	St. Paul	X	X
MO	Columbia	X		X
MS	Oxford	X		X
MS	Stoneville
MT	Sidney	X
ND	Mandan	X
NE	Lincoln	X
NM	Las Cruces
NY	Ithaca			X
OH	Columbus	X
OH	Coshocton	X
OK	El Reno
OK	Stillwater
OR	Corvallis	X
OR	Pendleton	X	X
PA	University Park			X
PA	Wyndmoor
SC	Florence		X
SD	Brookings	X
TX	Bushland	X	X
TX	Lubbock	X
TX	Temple	X	X	X
TX	Weslaco
WA	Prosser	X
WA	Pullman	X
WA	Wenatchee
WI	Madison
WV	Beaver			X
WV	Kearneysville
WY	Cheyenne			X