Soil and water losses by water erosion in even-aged forest in a Red-Yellow Latosol

Abstract

Water erosion contributes significantly in soil degradation, and vegetation cover is one of the important factors that influence the intensity of this erosion on the soil. To this end, this study aimed to evaluate soil and water losses by water erosion under natural rainfall in eucalyptus even-aged forest, relating them to limit-values of tolerance in a Red-Yellow Dystrophic Latosol. A standard plot was installed within the forest. From this collection, soil and water collections were carried out, after each erosive rainfall. The estimated soil loss presented and average value of 0.2566 ton ha^-1 in the study period (six months). The estimated water loss was of 8.36 mm in the study period. The low values show the sustainability of the studied forest, within the context of erosion, when compared to the soil loss tolerance limit, and to other research findings in native forest and bare soil.