EFFECT OF SPATIAL-TEMPORAL VARIATION OF LAND USE AND LAND COVER ON SOIL EROSION

RONALDO LUIZ MINCATO,RODRIGO SANTOS MOREIRA,JUNIOR CESAR AVANZI,TAYA CRISTO PARREIRAS,GUILHERME HENRIQUE EXPEDITO LENSE

doi:10.1590/1983-21252021v34n110rc

RONALDO LUIZ MINCATO, RODRIGO SANTOS MOREIRA + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252021v34n110rc

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Land use and land cover changes are the main factors of human influence on the erosive process. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effect of land use and land cover changes over 30 years on water erosion in a tropical subbasin in southeastern Brazil. The hypothesis was tested that the expansion of coffee and reforestation areas decreased soil losses due to water erosion. The Potential Erosion Method (EPM) was used to estimate water erosion in 1988, 1998, 2008 and 2018. In the first two decades, the predominant land use in the subbasin was corn, while in 2008 and 2018, coffee and reforestation areas became the main land use class in the area. The acquisition of EPM input parameters and data analysis was performed using remote sensing techniques and the Geographic Information System. Between 1988 and 1998, the total soil loss increased by 50.36 Mg year-1 due to the conversion of pasturelands to coffee plantations and the increase of deforestation. However, between 1998 and 2018, there was a soil loss reduction of 660.21 Mg year-1 (-37.46%), once the conversion of pasture and corn areas to coffee with the adoption of conservation practices, and the expansion of reforestation areas among 1988 - 2018, contributed to the decrease of soil erosion rates.

Highlights

Water erosion is the main form of land degradation worldwide, and it can compromise food, fiber, and energy production, as well as the maintenance of other soil ecosystem services (FAO, 2017)
Brazil have been facing land-use changes with a rapid expansion of some crops since the 1980s, which has brought changes in the erosion dynamics (MANZATTO; FREITAS JUNIOR; PERES, 2002; DIAS et al, 2016). These changes can be observed in the Coroado Stream subbasin, located in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, which is an ideal place for studies on the relationship between land-use change and water erosion
The results indicate that, over the years, there was an increase in areas classified with Very Slight and Slight erosion rates and reduction in areas with soil loss classified as Slight to Moderate and Moderate (Table 6)

Summary

Introduction

Water erosion is the main form of land degradation worldwide, and it can compromise food, fiber, and energy production, as well as the maintenance of other soil ecosystem services (FAO, 2017). Brazil have been facing land-use changes with a rapid expansion of some crops since the 1980s, which has brought changes in the erosion dynamics (MANZATTO; FREITAS JUNIOR; PERES, 2002; DIAS et al, 2016). These changes can be observed in the Coroado Stream subbasin, located in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, which is an ideal place for studies on the relationship between land-use change and water erosion

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