SOIL ERODIBILITY IN THE BRAZILIAN COASTAL PLAINS

Abstract

In order to determine soil losses caused by water erosion, in different situations, erosion prediction models, such as the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), are used. Their application on agricultural and environmental planning depends on the determination of the USLE factors, including erodibility (K factor). The objective of this study was to determine erodibility for the main soil classes of the Brazilian Coastal Plains region, in Aracruz, Espírito Santo State. The experiment was established in the following soils: medium/clayey texture Yellow Argisol (PA1), Haplic Plinthosol (FX), and moderately rocky Yellow Argisol (PA2). For the calculation of soil erodibility, data of erosivity and soil losses, from November 1997 to May 2004, were used. Soil losses samplings were performed for each rainfall event regarded as erosive. The erodibility values were 0.007 Mg h MJ^-1 mm^-1; 0.017 Mg h MJ^-1 mm^-1; and 0.0004 Mg h MJ^-1 mm^-1, for PA1, FX, and PA2, respectively.