The loss of soil and carbon (C) from erosional processes is of greater importance to agricultural productivity and sustainable resource management. Land management practices influence structural properties of soil aggregates, its size and stability, and the stabilization effect of soil organic carbon (SOC), and other cementing agents. Water erosion affects all these properties and consequently decreases productivity of land. Thus, relative significance of loss of soil and C from dry and wet aggregates was studied from soil sampled from the North Appalachian Experimental Watersheds (NAWEP).

The importance of soil storage in global carbon cycling is well recognised and factors leading to increased losses from this pool may act as a positive feedback mechanism in global warming. Upland peat soils are usually assumed to serve as carbon sinks, there is however increasing evidence of carbon loss from upland peat soils, and DOC concentrations in UK rivers have increased markedly over the past three decades.

Researchers and managers undertaking wildlife habitat assessments commonly require spatially explicit environmental map layers such as those derived from forest inventory and remote sensing. However, end users of geospatial products must often make choices regarding the source and level of detail required for characterizing habitat elements, with few published resources available for guidance.