Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (Jan 2016)

Water Erosion on an Oxisol under Integrated Crop-Forest Systems in a Transitional Area between the Amazon and Cerrado Biomes

  • Fernando Alexandre Rieger,
  • Cornélio Alberto Zolin,
  • Janaina Paulino,
  • Adilson Pacheco de Souza,
  • Eduardo da Silva Matos,
  • Ciro Augusto de Souza Magalhães,
  • Austeclínio Lopes de Farias Neto

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/18069657rbcs20150111
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 40, no. 0

Abstract

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ABSTRACT Water erosion is one of the main factors driving soil degradation, which has large economic and environmental impacts. Agricultural production systems that are able to provide soil and water conservation are of crucial importance in achieving more sustainable use of natural resources, such as soil and water. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil and water losses in different integrated production systems under natural rainfall. Experimental plots under six different land use and cover systems were established in an experimental field of Embrapa Agrossilvipastoril in Sinop, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, in a Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo Distrófico (Udox) with clayey texture. The treatments consisted of perennial pasture (PAS), crop-forest integration (CFI), eucalyptus plantation (EUC), soybean and corn crop succession (CRP), no ground cover (NGC), and forest (FRS). Soil losses in the treatments studied were below the soil loss limits (11.1 Mg ha-1 yr-1), with the exception of the plot under bare soil (NGC), which exhibited soil losses 30 % over the tolerance limit. Water losses on NGC, EUC, CRP, PAS, CFI and FRS were 33.8, 2.9, 2.4, 1.7, 2.4, and 0.5 % of the total rainfall during the period of study, respectively.

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