Erosion and the Economic Evaluation of the Conservation Grassland as an Existing Effective Tool to Reduce Erosion

Abstract

Problem with soil erosion has not yet been satisfactorily solved with a holistic approach through a precisely targeted and duly explained strategic plan in the Czech Republic. Even though there are effective means to undertake needed measures, conservation grassland being one of them. The research aims to contribute to the debate that concerns battling soil erosion in Czech conditions. The idea of conservation grassland as an effective tool to battle soil erosion is well-known by the experts and farmers alike. Although there has been a discussion on what should be the extent of conservation grassland on a country-level in Czech conditions, there still has not been enough vigour to push the idea forth. We set two research questions. Firstly, what should be the total volume of agricultural land that should undergo the conservation grassland. Secondly, how to adjust subsidy scheme for making the conservation grassland as erosion protection economically viable for the farmers. We provide answers with holistic analysis of all Land Parcel Blocks (LPB) in 2016-2021 period where the erosion events were analysed, and the Erosion Hazard Classes (TEO) were considered too. We concluded that if we take into the account a five-year project according to 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy scheme, more than CZK 3.4 billion worth of soil could be saved if 103,428.4 hectares were grassed. For a conventional farmer, additional subsidy scheme would have to be presented to compensate farmer's expenses for implementing the conservation grassland that secures an anti-erosion ecosystem service and other ecosystem services as well.