Profitability increases because of favourable product or factor price changes provide incentives for profit-maximising farmers, who use soils in conjunction with other cooperant inputs, to increase their investment in the preservation of soil-quality, whenever there exist economically viable technologies for preserving soils. However, when such technologies do not exist, regardless of whether farmers utilise soils as non-renewable or renewable resources, such profitability increases are associated with a long-run deterioration in soil quality.