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The Role of Soil Surface Crusting in Desertification and Strategies to Reduce Crusting

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Abstract.

Soil crusting decreases infiltration, increases erosion, and impedes vegetation establishment, so reducing the impact of crusting is of major importance in combating desertification. Although surface crusting has been the subject of considerable research over the past 50 years or more, the practical management of soil crusts remains a challenge for many dryland communities. Crusting occurs in two steps, an initial aggregate breakdown period that occurs under rainfall and a subsequent hardening phase during drying. Several factors influence crust development, but the single most important one is soil aggregate stability. Strategies to reduce crusting can be based either on protecting the surface from raindrop impact or improving aggregate stability, or a combination of both. However, crust control is labor and/or capital intensive and must be thought out clearly in terms of the benefits to be achieved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS UMR 6012 “Espace”, Department of Geography, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, BP 3209, 06204, Nice cedex 3, France

    D. M. Fox

  2. Environmental Science, Division of Physical Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto ON, MIC 1A4, Canada

    R. B. Bryan & A. G. Price

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  1. D. M. Fox
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  2. R. B. Bryan
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  3. A. G. Price
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Correspondence to D. M. Fox.

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Fox, D.M., Bryan, R.B. & Price, A.G. The Role of Soil Surface Crusting in Desertification and Strategies to Reduce Crusting. Environ Monit Assess 99, 149–159 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-004-4015-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-004-4015-5

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