Soil & Water Res., 2025, 20(4):274-284 | DOI: 10.17221/33/2025-SWR

Economic evaluation of conservation grassland as a measure to control soil erosion in the Czech RepublicOriginal Paper

Ivo Horák ORCID...1*, Marek Litzman ORCID...2, Petr Marada ORCID...3, Lubor Lacina ORCID...1, Miroslav Dumbrovský ORCID...4, Jan Vavřina ORCID...5, Michal Pochop6
1 Department of Finance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
2 Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
3 Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
4 Institute Water Landscape Management, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic
5 Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
6 Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

Conservation grassland significantly reduces soil erosion risk in agricultural landscapes, as shown by a nationwide analysis of over 1.9 million Farmer’s blocks (DPBs) records from the Czech Republic (2016–2022). A logit regression model revealed that grassland establishment lowers the likelihood of erosion events by about 64%, with erosion risk strongly influenced by altitude, land use, and management practices. Spatial mapping and soil suitability classification identified nearly 240 00 hectares – mainly along 33 000 concentrated runoff pathways – as suitable for targeted grassland conversion. Despite its soil-protective function, high opportunity costs hinder uptake in economically productive regions. Cluster analysis across EU Member States confirmed a strong link between low permanent grassland share and high erosion exposure. The findings underscore the need for regionally tailored policies, long-term financial support, and flexible land management options to enhance soil resilience and promote sustainable agriculture.

Keywords: cluster analysis; conservation grass management; logit regression analysis; opportunity cost; water erosion

Received: March 20, 2025; Revised: August 28, 2025; Accepted: September 10, 2025; Prepublished online: October 3, 2025; Published: October 14, 2025  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Horák I, Litzman M, Marada P, Lacina L, Dumbrovský M, Vavřina J, Pochop M. Economic evaluation of conservation grassland as a measure to control soil erosion in the Czech Republic. Soil & Water Res. 2025;20(4):274-284. doi: 10.17221/33/2025-SWR.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Benisiewicz B., Momblanch A., Leggatt A., Holman I.P. (2021): Erosion and sediment transport modelling to inform payment for ecosystem services schemes. Environmental Modelling & Assessment, 26: 89-102. Go to original source...
    2. Czech Statistical Office (2020): Agriculture. Available at: https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/11-zemedelstvi-dfhvymjvwf
    3. Dumbrovský M. (2013): Adverse Effects of Surface Runoff and Their Elimination in the Land Consolidation Process. Scientific Papers of the Brno University of Technology. Habilitation and Inauguration Papers. Brno, VUTIUM. (in Czech)
    4. Dumbrovský M., Drbal K., Sobotková V., Uhrová J. (2020): An approach to identifying and evaluating the potential formation of ephemeral gullies in the conditions of the Czech Republic. Soil and Water Research, 15: 38-46. Go to original source...
    5. EC Eurostat (2025): Estimated Soil Erosion by Water, by Erosion Level, Land Cover and NUTS 3 Region. European Commission - Joint Research Centre. Available at 10.2908/aei_pr_soiler
    6. Fučík P., Ptáčníková L., Hejduk T., Duffková R., Zajíček A., Novák P., Maxová J. (2016): Agricultural management and environmental protection: Farmers' perspective. Vodní hospodářství, 9: 1-5. (in Czech)
    7. Fürst C., Opdam P., Inostroza L., Luque S. (2014): Evaluating the role of ecosystem services in participatory land use planning: Proposing a balanced score card. Landscape Ecology, 29: 1435-1446. Go to original source...
    8. Ge Y., Zhao L., Chen J., Li X., Li H., Wang Z., Ren Y. (2023): Study on soil erosion driving forces by using (R)USLE framework and machine learning: A case study in Southwest China. Land, 12: 639. Go to original source...
    9. Giger M., Liniger H., Sauter C., Schwilch G. (2018): Economic benefits and costs of sustainable land management technologies: An analysis of WOCAT's global data. Land Degradation & Development, 29: 962-974. Go to original source...
    10. Horák I. (2024): Microeconomic Valuation of Anti-Erosion Ecosystem Measures in Agriculture. [Ph.D. Thesis.] Brno, Mendel University.
    11. Horák I., Marada P. (2022): Economic evaluation of the selected ecologically significant element in agriculture. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 70: 295-306. Go to original source...
    12. Horák I., Marada P. (2023): Erosion and the economic evaluation of the conservation grassland as an existing effective tool to reduce erosion. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 71: 141-153. Go to original source...
    13. Kapička J., Žížala D., Vít V., Novotný I. (2023): Agricultural Land Erosion Monitoring. Final Report. Prague, Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, State Land Office. Available at: https://me.vumop.cz/docs/ZZ_monitoring_2023.pdf (in Czech)
    14. Konečná J., Pražan J., et al. (2014): Assessment of the Economic Aspects of Anti-erosion Protection of Agricultural Soil. Certified Methodology. Brno, Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation.
    15. Laflen J.M., Franti T.G., Watson D.A. (1985). Effect of tillage systems on concentrated flow erosion. Soil Conservation and Productivity, 2: 798-809.
    16. Lehmann B., Hediger W. (2004): The contribution of grassland to social benefits of agriculture - An economic analysis. In: Land Use Systems in Grassland Dominated Regions. Proc. 20th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, Luzern, June 21-24, 2004: 105-116.
    17. Meloun M., Militký J. (2006): Compendium of Statistical Data Processing: Methods and Solved Problems. Prague, Academia. (in Czech)
    18. Ministry of Agriculture (2021): Situation and Outlook Report - Soil 2021. Prague, MZE.Available at https://mze.gov.cz/public/portal/-q342039---OEFwN1E5/situacni-a-vyhledova-zprava-puda-2021
    19. MZE (2025): Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic 2030+. Prague, MZE. (in Czech)
    20. Novotný I., Vopravil J., Kohoutová L. et al. (2013): Methodology for Mapping and Updating Evaluated Soil-Ecological Units. 4th Revised and Supplemented Edition. Prague, Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation. (in Czech)
    21. Panagos P., Standardi G., Borrelli P., Lugato E., Montanarella L., Bosello F. (2018): Cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion in the European Union: From direct cost evaluation approaches to the use of macroeconomic models. Land Degradation & Development, 29: 471-484. Go to original source...
    22. Šarapatka B., Bednář M. (2022): Rainfall erosivity impact on sustainable management of agricultural land in changing climate conditions. Land, 11: 467. Go to original source...
    23. Tenberg A., Da Veiga M., Dechen S.C.F., Stocking M.A. (1998): Modelling the impact of erosion on soil productivity: A comparative evaluation of approaches on data from southern Brazil. Experimental Agriculture, 34: 55-71. Go to original source...
    24. Vejvodová A. (2016): Grassing of Concentrated Runoff Pathways - Information Material for Farmers. Prague, MZE. (in Czech)
    25. Žalud Z., Trnka M., Hlavinka P. (2020): Agricultural Drought in the Czech Republic - Development, Impacts and Adaptation. Praha, Agrární komora České republiky. (in Czech)

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content