Soil conservation in South Africa has historically focused on preventing soil erosion.
Effective maintenance of the soil requires, in addition to erosion control, an understanding of
how land-use practices affect more subtle indicators of soil quality. This review outlines how
land use in South Africa can rapidly result in a marked reduction in soil organic matter (SOM)
content and increased tendency of soils to crust. Removal of a cover of vegetation, whether
by ploughing, grazing or burning, tends to reduce SOM due to reduced inputs of organic …

Ecosystem functioning and agricultural productivity are dependent on maintenance of the
soil resource. Soil quality is defined in relation to use (Gregorich et al., 1994) and any
significant decline in quality therefore implies misuse of soils. The effects of inappropriate
land use practices in South Africa have been in the spotlight of agricultural and political
debates for centuries (Scott, 1947; Scott, 1970; Scott, 1975). The damage, however, has
usually been quantified in terms of soil loss through erosion rather than in terms of more …