Irrigated orchards, vineyards, and row crops have high erosion rates. The vegetative filter strip (VFS) offers one way to control erosion rates and keep soil in the field rather than letting it be carried off site in drainage water.

Soil erosion is a major cause of water quality degradation. Included is an introduction to the properties of soil that influence its erodibility and an explanation of soil properties that you can manage to minimize erosion.

A soil's physical and chemical properties determine whether it is vulnerable to erosion, which can reduce soil quality and cause other problems besides. Learn the basics of identifying what type of erosion is affecting your land and what's causing it.

Serpentine and related rocks sometimes contain naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). When these rocks break down into soil, the NOA comes with them, and that creates a health hazard. Learn to recognize serpentine soils and keep health risks to a minimum.

When gardening in serpentine soils, you need to avoid exposure to naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) and some heavy metals. Here are precautions you can take in the garden along with a list of trees and shrubs you can plant to help stabilize these soils.

Since the 1950s, the Storie Index has been used to rate California soils for land use and productivity. Now UC researchers have developed a revised Storie Index that generates ratings automatically from digital soils data available from USDA.

Water-induced erosion carries valuable soil out of orchards and into downstream waterways, where it can cause serious problems. Learn how to keep your soil where it will do you the most good.