Several erosion processes are known, the most important being erosion by owing water (water erosion), wind (`wind erosion') and soil translocation by tillage (`tillage erosion'). All three damage the soil resource but only the first two additionally cause severe environmental problems because translocate soil leaves the arable area and enters neighboring ecosystems. Although water and wind erosion are different processes, they are governed by similar principles as far as land use is concerned. Soil surfaces destabilized by tillage and covered with little living or dead biomass are susceptible to erosive forces exerted by air or water. Erosion results in the degradation of a soil’s productivity in a number of ways: it reduces the efficiency of plant nutrient use, damages seedlings, decreases plants’ rooting depth, reduces the soil’s water-holding capacity, decreases its permeability, increases runoff, and reduces its infiltration rate.