An erosion control and soil conservation method for agrarian uses based on determining the erosion threshold

We present a practical method to control erosion and soil conservation for agrarian activity. The method consists of four steps: (1) analyse the erosive state (as a percentage of the area affected) and soil losses (in m³ ha^-1) by means of visual indicators (physical features on the soil surface that have been formed by erosion) and analyse environmental factors (as possible erodibility factors); (2) determine the factors of erodibility; (3) calculate the erosion threshold (value of the erodibility factor beyond which effective control of erosion is achieved), by statistical analysis of the databases collected in the field; (4) verify this result by applying a qualitative assessment of erosive intensity, using visual indicators. The erosion threshold is of particular interest for practical purposes because it can be used to improve the planning of agricultural activity, from the standpoint of soil conservation, thus promoting sustainable land use. This study makes the following main contributions to knowledge in this field: •It presents a new method to address erosion control, based on determining the erosion threshold.•Appropriate environmental and management conditions for effective erosion control are identified.•The method is simple to apply, which facilitates its implementation.