Soil structure plays a prominent role in plant growth and erosion control, and consequently in food production and soil and water conservation. This research was developed with the objective of implementing and accompanying the restoration process of the structure of a degraded soil, by planting crop sequences under no-tillage (autumn-winter and spring-summer, grass and legume, in single and intercropped systems), and later verifying the relations with water and soil losses caused by rainfall erosion, under distinct surface physical conditions (untilled […]

Quantity and size distribution of sediments transported by runoff are influenced by soil management, cover and crop systems, and by rainfall, among other factors, representing an important aspect in soil conservation planning. The objective of this study was to quantify runoff sediments and relate them with runoff velocity, during soybean growth, in a simulated rainfall experiment initiated in 1998 on a typical Hapludox, under the following soil management systems: conventional tillage with one plowing plus two diskings (CT) and no-tillage […]

Several factors determine the selectivity of the soil erosion process by rainfall concerning the size of eroded-sediments transported in the runoff water. Among them, it is important to point out the intensity of the rainfall and its associated runoff, the texture and degree of consolidation of the soil surface layer, the form of erosion (interill, rill, or gully), the microrelief of the terrain or surface roughness created by tillage, and the size and stability of the soil aggregates. Considering that, […]

Despite the available knowledge on erosion of cultivated lands, there are situations of soil use and management that need more detailed studies. Based on that, this research work was accomplished with the objective of evaluating soil erosion by rainfall from an area of native pasture cropped with corn (Zea mays L.), under reduced-tillage and no-tillage, and mineral (chemical fertilizer containing N and P) and organic (poultry litter) fertilization. The study was developed in the field, at the Agriculture Experimental Station […]

The sowing direction influences soil surface roughness, which, combined with rainfall and other variables, e.g., canopy cover, affects soil water erosion. Using a rotating-boom rainfall simulator, five tests of simulated rainfall were applied to black oat (Avena strigosa), and vetch (Vicia sativa), at a constant intensity of 64 mm h-1, between August and November 2006, to assess water and soil loss in the following treatment: mechanized seeding of oats in downslope rows; mechanized seeding of oats along contour lines; mechanized […]

Where nutrients are lost by water erosion the eroded soil is impoverished and crop productivity is reduced, apart from the water contamination. Soluble N in the runoff is biologically available and contributes to eutrophication of the water and, depending on the form and content in the water, may be toxic to aquatic organisms. In order to evaluate the N content in the form of ammonium and nitrate in the runoff water, an experiment was conducted with simulated rainfall from April […]

Increasing underground plant biomass and soil aggregate stability by application of adequate management practices enhances the quality in terms of water infiltration and erosion resistance. Based on this premise, an erosion study using simulated rainfall was carried out in the field, at an experimental station of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – EEA/UFRGS), in Eldorado do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, in the summer of 2003/2004, in a 7.5 year soil management experiment. The purpose […]

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 […]

Among conservation tillage methods, no-till has shown to be the most effective in reducing soil losses caused by rainfall erosion, but with considerable data variation regarding water loss. Considering these aspects, this study was carried out with the objective of evaluating soil and water losses, the chemical demand of oxygen (CDO), electrical conductivity, and the pH of surface runoff, associated with interrill erosion under simulated rainfall. The field study was conducted in October 2003 in Marechal Cândido Rondon county, western […]

The term soil erodibility (factor K in the Universal Soil Loss Equation – USLE) expresses the natural susceptibility of a soil to water erosion. The K factor stands for the soil loss rate per unit of rainfall erosivity (factor R in the USLE). Knowledge on the K factor, as well as about the other factors of the USLE, is important to establish soil conservation strategies since they permit the estimation of soil loss rates by water erosion under specific climate, […]