The environmental benefits and costs of conservation tillage

Every production practice, including conservation tillage, has positive or negative environmental consequences that may involve air, land, water and/or the health and ecological status of wildlife. The negative impacts associated with agricultural production and the use of conventional tillage systems in particular, include soil erosion, energy use, leaching and runoff of agricultural chemicals and carbon emissions. Several of these impacts are quantified. The conclusions suggest that the use of conservation tillage does result in less of an adverse impact on the environment from agricultural production than does conventional tillage by reducing surface water runoff, wind erosion and to some extent the enhancement of wildlife habitat. The benefits to be gained from carbon sequestration will depend on the soil remaining undisturbed and further expansion of conservation tillage on highly erodible land will unquestionably result in an increase in social benefits but the expected gains will be modest. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.