The Impact of Soil Erosion on Corn Yields: A Spatial Regression Analysis

This study examines the impact of soil erosion on corn (Zea mays L.) yield across counties in the US Midwest. Using a novel county-level panel dataset that includes information on water erosion and corn yield, we analyze the direct and spatial spillover effects of erosion using a spatial regression framework. We find that increases in soil erosion have a statistically significant negative impact on corn yield. In addition, we find evidence of significant spatial spillover effects, indicating that erosion in one county can adversely affect agricultural productivity in surrounding areas. These findings confirm that the negative effects of soil erosion extend beyond the site of origin and are spatially diffused across regions. This study provides new empirical evidence on the broader yield-related consequences of soil erosion and highlights the importance of landscape-level conservation strategies to mitigate its long-term agricultural impacts.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.70304
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89778
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/26396696
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2026 The Author(s). Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Crop Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Transportation Research Board or the National Academy of Sciences. This research was partially funded by the US Federal Aviation Administration Office of Environment and Energy through ASCENT, the FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and the Environment, project 104 through FAA Award Number 13-C-AJFE-UTenn-025.
• Authors:
  • Chen, Le
  • 0009-0003-3871-1203
  • Yu, T Edward
  • Williams, Hannah
• Publication Date: 2026-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 12p
• Serial:
  • Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment
  • Volume: 9
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 2639-6696
  • EISSN: 2639-6696

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Corn; Erosion; Spatial analysis
• Geographic Terms: Midwestern States; United States
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Geotechnology; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01991785
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 3 2026 9:07AM