Here are abstracts of two articles that represent the state of thinking
today. I should say that people as early as the 1920s also discussed
optimal soil depletion.
"The Economics of Soil Nutrient Stocks and Cattle Ranching in the
Tropics: Optimal Pasture Degradation in Humid Costa Rica"
ABSTRACT:
We present a model that can be used to analyse economically
optimal nutrient (nitrogen) stocks in agricultural lands. The
model is applied to study cattle ranching in humid Costa Rica.
The numerical results indicate that, for current meat prices and
discount rate, it is
