Examiner’s commentary

The candidate selected an original topic and was able to discuss a global environmental issue
(soil erosion) from a specific local perspective. There is an excellent explanation of the
relevance of the research question and rationalization of personal engagement. The level of
engagement with the research topic is evident throughout the whole essay. This essay involves
a review of scientific data and a collection of data from an original laboratory investigation. The
methodology used allows the candidate to collect simple but appropriate data. The sources
selected and used are pertinent and have academic credibility. It is rewarding to observe an
extended essay in Environmental Systems and Societies that can follow a systems approach
and use this approach in the analysis and interpretation of the data. Overall, it is a very complete
extended essay with the expected level of simplicity and academic rigour for an IB student.

The IB believe that content owners have the right to protect their property from theft. We are
working to make digital content widely available while protecting it through strategies that
meet our community expectations. Piracy is best addressed through consumer education, the
enforcement of current copyright laws and new technologies and business models that make
legal access to digital content easy, convenient and affordable. Any violation of IB’s copyright
will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
de ve lopme nt, 1�6), 519-539.

Law-Ogbomo, K. E., & Egharevba, R. K. A. (2009). Effects of planting density and

NPK fertilizer application on yield and yield components of tomato (Lycospersicon
esculentum Mill) in forest location. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 5{2),
152-158.

Liu, Yi et al., 2012, A Policy-Driven Large Scale Ecological Restoration:

Quantifying Ecosystem Services Changes in the Loess Plateau of China, https://
doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031782

Montgomery, D.R., 2007. Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability. Proceedings

of the National Academy of Scie nce s, 104(33), pp.13268-13272.

Sun, J. (2002). Provenance of loess material and formation of loess deposits on

the Chinese Loess Plateau. Earth and planetary science letters, 203;3-4), 845-
859.

Yanai, J., Lee, C. K., Kaho, T., Iida, M., Matsui, T., Umeda, M., & Kosaki, T. (2001).
Geostatistical analysis of soil chemical properties and rice yield in a paddy field
and application to the analysis of yield-determining factors. Soil Science and Plant
Nutrition, 41(2), 291-301.

Yang, S. Y., Jung, H. S., Choi, M. S., & Li, C. X. (2002). The rare earth element
compositions of the Changjiang (Yangtze) and Huanghe (Yellow) river
sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 201(2), 407-419.

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