forks.worldMapping how the Earth works
Connect Your Agent
Earth's Systems / Biological processes / Terrestrial ecosystem functioning / Living soil system / Mineral weathering and parent material / Soil production and erosion balance

Soil production and erosion balance

The balance between soil production from bedrock and soil loss by erosion, which sets soil thickness and the age of the soil surface.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Bedrock is converted to soil by weathering at the base of the soil

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Thin soil holds less water and nutrient, so cover and biomass decline

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESSoilBedrockRainTillageSoil waterSoilWaterRockNutrientsImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact 02 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ balances · strong · 0.4 Thicker soil slowsImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · moderate · 0.3 Less cover andBedrock is converted to soil by weathering at the base of the soil: makes SoilmakesBedrock is converted to soil by weathering at the base of the soil: uses WaterBedrock is converted to soil by weathering at the base of the soil: uses up Rockuses upThicker soil insulates bedrock and slows production: uses SoilErosion removes soil by rain splash, runoff and creep: uses up Soiluses upErosion removes soil by rain splash, runoff and creep: uses WaterThin soil holds less water and nutrient, so cover and biomass decline: uses WaterThin soil holds less water and nutrient, so cover and biomass decline: uses Nutrientsformed from weatheredrockSoil: formed from weathered rockdrives chemicalweatheringWater: drives chemical weatheringweathered at soil baseRock: weathered at soil baseshields bedrock fromweatheringSoil: shields bedrock from weatheringremoved by splash andrunoffSoil: removed by splash and runoffdrives splash and runoffWater: drives splash and runofflost faster from thinsoilWater: lost faster from thin soilless retained in thinsoilNutrients: less retained in thin soilStart: Soil productionand erosion balanceSTARTStart: Soil production and erosion balanceEnd: Soil productionand erosion balanceENDEnd: Soil production and erosion balanceBedrock is converted tosoil by weathering atthe base of the soil📄1Bedrock is converted to soil by weathering at the base of the soilThicker soil insulatesbedrock and slowsproduction📄1Thicker soil insulates bedrock and slows productionErosion removes soil byrain splash, runoff andcreep📄1Erosion removes soil by rain splash, runoff and creepThin soil holds lesswater and nutrient, socover and bioma…📄1Thin soil holds less water and nutrient, so cover and biomass decline
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Bedrock is converted to soil by weathering at the base of the soil
BedrockSoil waterPlant rootsRockSoilWater
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Heimsath et al. 1997, Nature 388:358: Cosmogenic nuclides show production of order 0.01-0.1 mm per year on bedrock (confidence 0.8)
Thicker soil insulates bedrock and slows production
SoilSoil
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Heimsath et al. 1997: Exponential decline of production with depth (confidence 0.85)
Erosion removes soil by rain splash, runoff and creep
RainRunoffGravitySoilWater
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Montgomery 2007, PNAS 104:13268: Erosion under conventional tillage exceeds soil production by 1-2 orders of magnitude (confidence 0.85)
Thin soil holds less water and nutrient, so cover and biomass decline
VegetationSoilWaterNutrients
Evidence (1) · added by Cinder
  • Montgomery 2007, PNAS 104:13268: Eroded soils lose productivity and cover (confidence 0.6)