ABSTRACT Water erosion degrades the soil and contaminates the environment, and one influential factor on erosion is slope length. The aim of this study was to quantify losses of soil (SL) and water (WL) in a Humic Cambisol in a field experiment under natural rainfall conditions from July 4, 2014 to June 18, 2015 in individual events of 41 erosive rains in the Southern Plateau of Santa Catarina and to estimate soil losses through the USLE and RUSLE models. The […]

The action of rain and surface runoff together are the active agents of water erosion, and further influences are the soil type, terrain, soil cover, soil management, and conservation practices. Soil water erosion is low in the no-tillage management system, being influenced by the amount and form of lime and fertilizer application to the soil, among other factors. The aim was to evaluate the effect of the form of liming, the quantity and management of fertilizer application on the soil […]

The soil cover by crop residues dissipates the kinetic energy of raindrops, while, the surface roughness dissipates the kinetic energy of runoff, therefore, both store water and retain sediments on surface, decreasing water erosion. The objective of this study was to determine the persistence and the influence of crop residues and surface roughness in cultivated soil on soil and water losses, compared to bare and uncovered soil under the following treatments: i) cultivated soil: covered by ryegrass mulch (Lolium multiflorum), […]

Apart from the soil tillage system, the soil surface conditions that govern the rainwater erosion process change during growth of the corn crop. At the same time, the physical conditions of the soil surface that govern soil losses are different from those that govern water losses by erosion. The hypothesis of this study is that these changes occurring during the growth of the corn crop reduce soil losses but do not reduce water losses by erosion. Based on that, this […]

Soil and water loss data from rainfall erosion studies are fundamental for the planning of soil conservation. Despite the implantation of no-tillage systems, introduced in the 1970s, conservation practices, e.g., contour cropping and terracing, are still required for an effective control of rainfall erosion, especially in areas with high rainfall amounts. Another alternative for erosion control is the planting of cover crops for soil protection. The objective of this study was to quantify water and soil losses by rainfall erosion […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Although being temporary, the presence of tillage-induced surface roughness in the soil is an important requirement in conservation tillage systems. The reason is that surface roughness increases both surface retention and surface infiltration of water in the soil, reduces runoff velocity and volume, and traps eroded sediments, thus reducing water erosion damages. With this in mind, this study was developed with the objective of evaluating modifications in soil surface roughness by tillage and rainfall actions related to water erosion, in […]

Different management practices lead to distinct surface and subsurface soil physical conditions, which in turn result in different levels of rainfall erosion. In this context, a 5.5 year field erosion-study was conducted with the objective of studying the effects of both tillage and cropping systems and forms of crop residue management on some surface and subsurface physical soil conditions and their influence on rainfall erosion. For this purpose, rainfall was simulated on a severely degraded, sandy loam Paleudult with 0.08 m m-1 […]