Following recommendations by the 19th Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, the area, causes and rates of upland soil erosion in England and Wales were investigated between 1997 and 1999. This paper describes the methods and results of the field survey of 1999 in which the extent of eroded ground was determined. 2. The area of degraded soil and the volume of eroded material were both determined from the dimensions of individual erosion features at 399 field sites located on an orthogonal grid across the uplands. Using measurements of individual erosion features, degraded soil extent in upland England and Wales was estimated at almost 25 000 ha, 2·46 per cent of the total upland area surveyed. Half this eroded area was revegetated and no longer subject to continued accelerated soil loss in 1999. The total volume of eroded material was estimated at 0·284 km3. Although deposition of eroded material occurred within 20 per cent of eroded field sites, the total volume of redeposited material was less than 1 per cent of the total volume of eroded soil. 3. Erosion was more extensive on peat soils than on dry, wet mineral or wet peaty mineral soils. In addition, the higher incidence of erosion at high altitudes and on low slopes reinforced the relationship between erosion and areas of peat formation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Soil erosion involves a two‐phase process of soil detachment and transport, both of which require an energy input. Much of the energy of erosion derives from water or wind flow over the soil surface or is provided by gravity. Although reducing the energy of erosive forces is the most effective way of controlling soil erosion, one consequence of reducing energy may be the deposition of any material already eroded. As eroded sediment is often enriched with nutrients, organic matter, and contaminants preferentially adsorbed onto the sediment surface, sediment deposition may allow contaminant release into the environment. It is necessary, therefore, to reduce erosive energy at the source areas of sediment rather than after the sediment has been detached and transported.

This research addressed the need for a national assessment of soil erosion risk for England and Wales, UK, by producing a national map of soil erosion taking into account of soils, slopes and present-day land use. It is illustrated how the data from measurement and monitoring studies can be used to model and then map at larger spatial scales the delivery of eroded sediment from land to water, and how this could be used as an effective management tool. The authors conclude that although the erosion model is based on the most comprehensive erosion data available for England and Wales, it is not sufficient for quantifying the risk of erosion from different soils at the soil series level and it is questionable how representative erosion data from the sampling period (1996-2002) are of long-term soil erosion rates.

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