Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Rainfall Erosion

1962; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0065-2113(08)60437-x

2213-6789

Dwight D. Smith, W. H. Wischmeier,

Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics

Rainfall erosion is a serious problem of farmland over a large part of the world. It is, particularly, acute on gently to steeply sloping land of both humid and semiarid areas. In the latter areas, seasonal or annual drought cycles, which prevent the establishment and maintenance of plant cover, create an erosion problem fully as severe as that in areas of heavier rainfall. Contour tillage and planting, strip cropping, terracing, waterways, and gully-control structures are generally included under erosion control practices. The effectiveness of contour planting and tillage in erosion control varies with slope, crop, and soil. Its maximum effectiveness in relation to up- and down-hill rows is on medium slopes and on deep, permeable soils that are protected from sealing. The relative effectiveness decreases as the land slope becomes either very flat or very steep. Row shapes as secured with listing increase the channel capacity and, therefore, increases the average annual effectiveness of farming on the contour.