Tillage changes the physical conditions of the soil surface and subsurface and, consequently, influences values of the parameters related to water erosion. This study aimed to determine, from June 2005 to March 2006, the effect of a chiseling operation and of the rainfall erosivity on some parameters related to the soil water erosion in a Nitosol under the following soil management systems: (a) conventional tillage without soil cultivation (BSE), (b) conventional tillage (CTE), (c) no-tillage in never-tilled soil and with […]

Intensive soil mobilization in the conventional tillage system has caused soil structure degradation, soil compaction below the arable layer, and decreased macroporosity. These changes resulted in reduced soil water infiltration rate and increased runoff, soil erosion and sedimentation in rivers and reservoirs. In the no tillage system the water erosion from the soil surface is practically controlled, and the terraces were eliminated by the farmers. Nevertheless, the surface flow is higher than it was in the conventional tillage system. With […]

The biodegradability and distribution of pesticides in the environment determine their pollution potential. The risk of contamination with atrazine herbicide was studied in an Ultisol under field conditions and complemented with a microcosm system study. This system allowed the use of 14C-atrazine under controlled conditions and to determine of the volatilization (0.33%), mineralization (0.25%) and leaching (4 to 11%) parameters, which are difficult to evaluate in the field. Ninety percent of the radioactivity remained in the soil, with 75% in […]

Nutrient losses are influenced by the soil tillage system. In general, nutrient concentrations in runoff are higher in soil conservation tillage systems, whereas the total nutrient losses are higher in conventional soil tillage. The NH4+ and NO3– losses in water and mineral nitrogen in runoff sediment were determined under natural rainfall in the following tillage systems: six years of no-tillage (NT6), nine years of no-tillage (NT9), nine years of chisel plow plus disking cultivation (CD9), nine years of plowing plus […]

Soil management influences surface cover and roughness, and it is the major factor that affects water erosion. A rotating-boom rainfall simulator operated at a constant rainfall intensity of 64 mm h-1 and 0.2083 MJ ha-1 mm-1 kinetic energy was used to investigate water erosion and related parameters in six management systems of corn and bean crops. The experiments were carried out on a clayey loam structured soil (Hapludox) with 0.165 m m-1 average slope, on the Southern Plateau of Santa Catarina State, Brazil, from March […]

Growth stagnation on native grassland during the winter season has stimulated the introduction of winter species in order to increase forage offer for animals in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. To determine the nutrient losses by erosion as affected by different methods of native grassland improvement, an experiment was carried out at the Agronomic Experimental Station of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Eldorado do Sul. A mixture of the winter forage species black […]

The cessation of growth of native forage during winter has encouraged the improvement of native grasslands. Aiming to study water intake rates and soil and water losses by erosion as affected by different methods of native grassland improvement, an experiment was conducted at the Agronomic Experimental Station of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Eldorado do Sul, Brazil, on a Paleudult soil under extensive native grassland use. A mixture of winter species of forage, specifically oat (Avena […]

This work aimed to measure and analyze total rainfall (P), rainfall intensity and five-day antecedent rainfall effects on runoff (R); to compare measured and simulated R values using the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number method (CN) for each rainfall event; and to establish average R/P ratios for observed R values. A one-year (07/01/96 to 06/30/97) rainfall-runoff data study was carried out in the Capetinga watershed (962.4 ha), located at the Federal District of Brazil, 47° 52′ longitude West and 15° […]