Sustaining soils and their fertility requires that the amount of soil lost to erosion be minimized. This is especially important in regions where soil formation rates are low or where soils have an inherently high vulnerability to erosion. Soil erosion rates in many regions of the world are far higher than they have been in the past. Dust storms of global proportions are now common and massive amounts of soil have been lost via water erosion. Natural soil protectors include plants, plant litter, rocks, physical and biological soil crusts and healthy soil structure. Increases in human populations often result in agricultural activities in marginal lands that result in the loss of these soil protectors. When fields are abandoned due to poor soils or drought, they are highly vulnerable to erosion as most of these protective mechanisms have been lost. Grazing in drylands can reduce the cover of plants, plant litter, physical and biological crusts, and soil structure. Recreational and military activities crush plants, soil structure, and physical crusts and biological crusts, as well as push protective rocks beneath the soil surface. Climate change (changes in the timing, amounts, or intensity of precipitation; increased temperature; and/or increased CO₂) will also alter how well all these factors act to protect soils from erosion (except rock cover), as all these factors will influence plant cover, plant biomass, and the formation or recovery rates of physical and biological crusts and soil structure. However, the effect of these changes will vary depending on the characteristics of soils and climate in a given region. There are also steps that can be taken to prevent degradation of soil surface protectors and to enhance recovery of factors in impacted areas.