Accelerated erosion can lead to loss of soil, which has negative effects on the environment and economy.

Accelerated erosion is mostly anthropogenic, that is, human induced.

Activities that can cause accelerated erosion include deforestation, overgrazing, overcultivation, desertification, and urban sprawl.

Deforestation is excessive logging, either to produce commercial timber, or to change the ecosystem to a drier one (convert forests into grazing lands).