Will AI replace Conservation Scientists?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
53/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 84% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 81% of the work
What the job involves
Manage, improve, and protect natural resources to maximize their use without damaging the environment. May conduct soil surveys and develop plans to eliminate soil erosion or to protect rangelands. May instruct farmers, agricultural production managers, or ranchers in best ways to use crop rotation, contour plowing, or terracing to conserve soil and water; in the number and kind of livestock and forage plants best suited to particular ranges; and in range and farm improvements, such as fencing and reservoirs for stock watering.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(25)
- Apply principles of specialized fields of science, such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, or agriculture, to achieve conservation objectives.
- Gather information from geographic information systems (GIS) databases or applications to formulate land use recommendations.
- Participate on work teams to plan, develop, or implement programs or policies for improving environmental habitats, wetlands, or groundwater or soil resources.
- Advise land users, such as farmers or ranchers, on plans, problems, or alternative conservation solutions.
- Plan soil management or conservation practices, such as crop rotation, reforestation, permanent vegetation, contour plowing, or terracing, to maintain soil or conserve water.
and 20 more
Out of reach(5)
- Implement soil or water management techniques, such as nutrient management, erosion control, buffers, or filter strips, in accordance with conservation plans.
- Develop or maintain working relationships with local government staff or board members.
- Monitor projects during or after construction to ensure projects conform to design specifications.
- Revisit land users to view implemented land use practices or plans.
- Manage field offices or involve staff in cooperative ventures.
Also called
Soil Conservationist · Land Reclamation Specialist · Land Resource Specialist · Research Soil Scientist · Resource Conservationist · Conservation Science Officer · Grassland Conservationist · Natural Resources Specialist
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics