Soil loss due to harvesting of various crop types in contrasting agro-ecological environments

Soil erosion studies on cropland usually only consider water, wind and tillage erosion. However, significant amounts of soil are also lost from the field during the harvest of crops such as sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), chicory roots (Cichorium intybus L.), cassava (Manihot spp.) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam). During the harvest soil adhering to the crop, loose soil or soil clods and rock fragments are exported from the field together with these crops.