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Soil loss and sediment yield in a perennial catchment in southwest Piauí, Brazil

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Abstract

Soil and water are vital natural resources. However, due to their indiscriminate use, these resources are being seriously threatened. Therefore, it is essential to manage them in a sustainable way and leave them for future generations. Population and agricultural areas have expanded, deforesting native landscapes for cultivation and pastures. As a result, soil loss from agricultural areas is increasing the amount of sediment transport in water courses. The objective of this study was to quantify soil loss and sediment yield from the Corrente dos Matões sub-basin (CMSB). These measurements are essential to quantify the environmental impact of advancing agricultural frontiers. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was applied due to its wide use, compatibility with GIS, and data availability. The suspended sediment transport was calculated by collecting samples with DH-48 sampler. From the application of USLE, the average soil erosion contributed very little to sediment delivery in the watercourse, with a magnitude of only 0.37 t ha−1 year−1. The highest soil loss was associated with greater slope and was observed in areas with agriculture or under the absence of vegetation cover. The low transport of suspended sediments in CMSB is due to the existence of preserved sites. About 99% of the sub-basin had a low degree of erosion. The high degree of soil loss was attributed to the cliffs and the development of agricultural activities leaving the soil uncovered. This work will help identify the most susceptible areas to water erosion for optimizing the allocation of financial resources for the preservation of this natural resource.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) that provided a scholarship to the first author.

Funding

This work was supported by the Brazilian National Research and Development Council-CNPq (Process Number: 404394/2016-7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agronomy Department, Federal University of Piaui (UFPI), Planalto Horizonte, Bom Jesus, PI, 64900-000, Brazil

    Kamylla Gonçalves Oliveira Assis, Yuri Jacques Agra Bezerra da Silva, José Wellington Batista Lopes & Marcos Paulo Rodrigues Teixeira

  2. Federal University of Southern Bahia (UFSB), Itabuna, BA, 45604-810, Brazil

    João Carlos Medeiros

  3. Federal Institute of Maranhão (IFMA), Codó, MA, 65400-000, Brazil

    Fernando Braga Rimá

  4. Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2117, USA

    Vijay P. Singh

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  1. Kamylla Gonçalves Oliveira Assis
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  2. Yuri Jacques Agra Bezerra da Silva
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Correspondence to Yuri Jacques Agra Bezerra da Silva.

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Highlights

Soil loss and sediment transport were measured under different scales.

About 99% of the sub-basin had a low degree of erosion.

The average annual loss of soil predicted by the USLE was 0–1 t ha−1.

The high degree of soil loss was attributed to the cliffs.

The suspended sediment yield equal to 0.89 t km−2 year−1 was considered low.

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Assis, K.G.O., da Silva, Y.J.A.B., Lopes, J.W.B. et al. Soil loss and sediment yield in a perennial catchment in southwest Piauí, Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 193, 26 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08789-y

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