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Why is cropland soil eroding faster than it can be replenished in some places?

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A row of cattle with brown and black coats eat feed from a long trough in a South African feedlot, separated by wooden fencing. — Feed Feedlot cattle eating grain in an intensive animal farm in South Africa.

Cropland soil erodes faster than it can be replenished primarily due to unsustainable agricultural practices that disturb the soil structure and remove protective vegetation cover. While natural soil erosion is a geomorphic process, human-induced "accelerated erosion" occurs when land use causes soil loss to exceed the slow rate of natural soil formation.123

Key factors contributing to this imbalance include:

Aggressive Tilling: Plowing and tilling disturb soil aggregates, making the ground more susceptible to being carried away by wind and water.12
Lack of Vegetation: Removing natural ecosystems like forests and prairies for farmland eliminates root systems that stabilize the soil. Leaving soil exposed off-season further exacerbates loss from wind and water.12
Water and Wind Forces: Rainfall and surface runoff break apart soil particles, while strong winds lift and transport loose soil, especially in arid regions with little cover.1
Landscape Alteration: Practices such as clearing land on steep slopes or failing to implement conservation techniques like terracing or windbreaks increase the vulnerability of the land.14

Without adopting sustainable methods like no-till agriculture and cover crops, this finite resource continues to degrade at alarming rates.2