How to win the fight against soil erosion: saving fertile land and preserving water quality with the help of nuclear techniques (Chinese Edition)

Erosion eats away at fertile land, threatening food production and farmers' income alike. The top layer of the soil, which is the first to go, is the most nutritious. Often this nutritious soil ends up in rivers and lakes where it encourages algae to grow, causing the amount of oxygen in the water to decrease. This in turn compromises water quality and harms fish populations. Nuclear techniques can help scientists and farmers find erosion hot spots and identify the right soil conservation technique to save both farmland and fresh water sources (see The Science box on page 17). The IAEA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), provides support to 70 countries on erosion research. This article profiles two of them: Morocco, where the focus is on saving agricultural land, and Myanmar, where they are fighting off an algae boom in the country's second largest lake.