← on nowLGR-039 · v0.1.0 · model · model soil: how much, per second and per year
soil · topsoil, tonnes
eroded from farmland
24 billion
a year
761
a second
66 million
a day
formed
1 billion
a year
31.7
a second
2.7 million
a day
method UNCCD/FAO figure of ~24 Gt/yr; Borrelli et al. 2017 (36 Gt water erosion). formation from Montgomery 2007 rates × cropland area.
- a third of the world’s soil is degraded. most of the loss is from tilled cropland, and most of the cropland grows feed and grain.source: FAO 2015 Status of the World’s Soil Resources; Borrelli et al. 2017
- the dust bowl was this, in one decade, in one place. it is happening everywhere, slowly.source: Montgomery 2007, Dirt
live. this is the channel itself. embed it anywhere:
<iframe src="https://thetoll.earth/?channel=soil" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #D9DDDB" title="the toll · soil"></iframe>
or the whole broadcast, every channel, the same for everyone:
<iframe src="https://thetoll.earth/?embed=1" width="100%" height="520" style="border:1px solid #D9DDDB" title="the toll · on now, everywhere"></iframe>
how this number is built
- method
- UNCCD/FAO figure of ~24 Gt/yr; Borrelli et al. 2017 (36 Gt water erosion). formation from Montgomery 2007 rates × cropland area.
- range
- eroded 20–36 Gt/yr; formed 0.5–2 Gt/yr
- confidence
- model
- weakness
- both sides are modeled; the ratio (about 25×) is more robust than either number.
- dispute
- dispute LGR-039 · corrections are credited
- data
- channels.json (sign-in) · full entry · CC BY 4.0