Abstract
“Erodibility” is a characteristic of the soil that represents the susceptibility with which its particles from the most superficial layer are taken and transported to lower places by erosive agents, causing environmental and economic damages. This work estimated soil erodibility in pastures and forest areas in the municipality of Porto Velho-Rondônia. In the field, three areas with different types of vegetation were selected, one with brachiaria, another with mombaça grass, and a third in native forest. In areas with pastures, a sampling mesh of equal sizes was outlined (90 m x 60 m), and in the forested area an approximate sampling mesh (90 m x 50 m), with a regular spacing of 10 m between the samples points for both areas. The sampling was done at the crossing points of the mesh at a depth of 0.0-0.2 m, composing 70 sample points in the areas with pastures and 60 sample points in the forest area, totaling 200 samples. Then, laboratory analyzes were carried out to determine the texture followed by the fractionation of the sand, and the organic carbon followed by the estimate of the organic matter of the soil. The erodibility factors were calculated using indirect prediction models, and then, univariate, geostatistical and multivariate techniques were applied. The pastures’ environments differed from the forest environment. However, the mombaça grass area functions as an intermediate environment between the forest and the brachiaria, being closer to the forest environment.
 Keywords: erodibility, factors, kriging, principal components.
Highlights
IntroductionSoil erosion is a process of detachment and accelerated drag of soil particles caused by water (water erosion) or wind (wind erosion) (Demarchi et al, 2019)
Soil erosion is a process of detachment and accelerated drag of soil particles caused by water or wind (Demarchi et al, 2019)
Evaluating the dispersion of the variables (Table 1), it was observed in the pasture areas in comparison with the forest area, that the measures of central tendency of the variables presented symmetrical distribution, and both showed values very close for all attributes, which justifies normal or approximately normal distributions of the analyzed data
Summary
Soil erosion is a process of detachment and accelerated drag of soil particles caused by water (water erosion) or wind (wind erosion) (Demarchi et al, 2019). The ease with which this process occurs is called soil erodibility, being one of the most worrying factors within agriculture because it directly and indirectly affects the plantation and the environment, being the main cause of the decline in soil fertility, even more in regions where there is greater degradation of the most fertile soil layers (Macedo et al, 2010). To solve this problem, several researchers have proposed indirect models for predicting soil losses (in the laboratory), which make it possible to consider the spatial and temporal variations of the conditioning factors of erosive processes. These models aim to assist in agricultural planning, to apply conservation techniques that reduce soil losses as much as possible, to minimize environmental and economic damage, and to improve soil quality (Amorim et al, 2010)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
