Author(s): Vajapeyam S. Srinivasan; Ricardo De Aragao; Walszon Terllizzie L. Araujo
Linked Author(s): Vajapeyam S. Srinivasan
Keywords: Modeling; Runoff; Sediment yield; Semiarid region
Abstract: Excepting the coastal region, the northeastern part of Brazil is mostly semiarid with the annual precipitation of 800mm or less, and is characterized by large spatial and temporal variations. In this region, agriculture is the principal vocation of subsistence and the large spatial and temporal variations of the precipitation in the region provoke considerable land erosion. In order to evaluate the effects of land use, slope and vegetal cover on the sediment production rates, several experimental erosion plots of 100 m2 and four micro-basins of about one half of a hectare were installed in an experimental basin located in the typically semiarid region of the State of Paraiba in the northeast of Brazil. . The erosion plots and microbasins were equipped with collector tanks and overflow devices to determine the runoff as well as the sediment yield due to erosion Measurements of runoff and erosion under diverse conditions of management of the erosion plots and the micro-basins have been carried out since 1982. A hydrodynamic model was used to simulate the processes of runoff and erosion. The model developed by Lopes (1987) known as WESP (Watershed Erosion Simulation Program), considers the basin to be made up of planes and channels and the dynamic processes of runoff and erosion are numerically simulated. The paper presents the details of the installations, data collected and the results obtained in the modeling process.
Year: 2004