SOIL-EROSION IN THE UK INITIATED BY GRAZING ANIMALS - A NEED FOR A NATIONAL SURVEY

Range managers often consider 'overgrazing' only in the light of its i mpacts on vegetation and animal productivity, but they also need to ta ke account of soil erosion initiated by the grazing animal, The exposu re and maintenance of bare soil in the UK by grazing animals, especial ly sheep, is outlined. Some soil/vegetation associations are more sens itive to the creation of bare soil by animals than others. In the upla nds, erosion of peat, however initiated, is exacerbated by grazing ani mals, and such erosion can be very difficult to control, even when ani mals are excluded from the area by fencing, In such localities erosion may have to run its course until all the peat has been stripped off, Grazing pressures in many localities have increased since the late 194 0s for political, economic and social reasons, and considerable areas of the UK have been affected by the erosional impacts of grazing anima ls, No consideration was given to the erosional and ecological impacts of grazing when the regulations subsidizing sheep grazing were passed , It is now time to amend these regulations and to institute a nationa l survey of erosion initiated by grazing animals. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd.