Effects of Land Use and Cropping on Soil Erosion in Agricultural Frontier Areas in the Cerrado-Amazon Ecotone, Brazil, Using a Rainfall Simulator Experiment

Marco Aurélio Barbosa Alves, Adilson Pacheco de Souza, Frederico Terra de Almeida, Aaron Kinyu Hoshide, Handrey Borges Araújo, Apoliano Francisco da Silva and Daniel Fonseca de Carvalho ()
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Marco Aurélio Barbosa Alves: Postgraduate Program in Agronomy-Soil Sciences, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 23897-045, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Adilson Pacheco de Souza: Institute of Agrarian and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sinop 78557-287, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Frederico Terra de Almeida: Institute of Agrarian and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sinop 78557-287, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Aaron Kinyu Hoshide: College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture, The University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Handrey Borges Araújo: Institute of Agrarian and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sinop 78557-287, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Apoliano Francisco da Silva: Institute of Agrarian and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sinop 78557-287, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Daniel Fonseca de Carvalho: Institute of Technology, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 23897-000, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-21

Abstract: Agricultural soils provide ecosystem services, but the removal of natural vegetation reduces water infiltration capacity, increasing surface runoff. Thus, monitoring erosion is critical for sustainable agricultural management. Sediment losses and surface runoff were evaluated using a simulated rainfall of 75 mm/h in areas with crops and pastures in both the Caiabi River and Renato River sub-basins of the Teles Pires River watershed in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. In both the Caiabi and Renato sub-basins, data were collected from 156 observations in the upper, middle, and lower regions where (1) soybeans, (2) maize, and (3) pasture were grown alone, with another crop, or with soil that was scarified. Erosion occurred independent of soil texture and was closely related to the management and use of systems involving fewer crops and more soil scarification, regardless of sub-basin location. In uncovered, scarified soil, the soil losses from erosion were greater compared to covered soil, regardless of sub-basin and sub-basin region. In the Renato River sub-basin, soil losses in cultivated areas not planted with crops but with scarification were 66.01, 90.79, and 60.02 g/square meter in the upper, middle, and lower regions, respectively. Agricultural producers need to increase the planting of crops throughout the year and minimize soil disturbance, which will reduce soil erosion and improve sustainability.

Keywords: Cerrado-Amazon; crops; geoprocessing; GIS; land use; mapping; rainfall simulator; satellite images; soil erosion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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