Soil provides society with vital goods and services - supply of food, fodder and fibre; storage of rainwater, nutrients and carbon; shelter to diverse living organisms; and protection of our buried cultural heritage. 

The capacity of soil to perform these functions can be undermined by degradation processes such as soil erosion, which occurs when land is used beyond its inherent ‘capability’, for example when highly erosive crops are grown on highly erodible soils. 

The loss of soil functions through erosion has direct financial impact on the land economy at every stage along the supply chain in terms of reduced crop production, loss of nutrients and carbon and increased inputs needed to rectify any losses. These costs justify an investment in erosion risk assessment and erosion mitigation. 

Understanding the location, extent and impacts of erosion on-site (e.g. loss of the soil resource in-field) and off-site (e.g. eroded sediment polluting water bodies) is key in targeting effective erosion-control mitigation measures, as are current soil policies at EU (e.g. draft Soil Framework Directive) and national (e.g. Soil Strategy for England) level.

At a glance

Course structure

1 day workshop

What you will learn

Understand the processes of soil erosion, their environmental impacts and the role of current soil policy on management of soil erosion.

Evaluate erosion risk in a catchment to identify potential sources and sinks of sediment.

Demonstrate the need for erosion mitigation.

Recommend mitigation solutions to address specific erosion problems.

Upgrade to a professional qualification

5 BASIS Points

No credits available for this course

Concessions


Accommodation options and prices

Accommodation is available at Mitchell Hall which is located on campus. All rooms are en-suite and bookings are on a half-board basis. If you would like to book accommodation for this short course at Mitchell Hall, please indicate this on the registration form and we will arrange this for you.

Alternatively, you may wish to make your own arrangements at a nearby hotel.

Location and travel

Cranfield University is situated in Bedfordshire close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The University is located almost midway between the towns of Bedford and Milton Keynes and is conveniently situated between junctions 13 and 14 of the M1.

London Luton, Stansted and Heathrow airports are 30, 90 and 90 minutes respectively by car, offering superb connections to and from just about anywhere in the world. 

For further location and travel details

Location address

Cranfield University
College Road
Cranfield
Bedford
MK43 0AL

Read our Professional development (CPD) booking conditions.