In the last 30 years there has been an increase in the incidence of soil erosion on agricultural land in many parts of northwest Europe. The main cause has been the shift from spring-sown to autumn-sown cereal crops. Farmers prefer to grow so-called winter cereals because they give higher yields, particularly when winters are mild and the growing season is longer than expected. Winter-cereal growing is part of a wider picture of agricultural intensification, which includes:
■ using chemical fertilisers and pesticides
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