Hidrossedimentologia e sua relação com atributos de solos e sedimentos em agroecossistemas do semiárido brasileiro.

Abstract

The Northeast of Brazil wich predominantes semiarid climate is characterized by intensive exploitation of natural resources and the environment for small farm producers in the form of subsistence. Anthropogenic activities have caused limitations in the exploitation of natural resources with consequent losses of soil and water and environmental sustainability commitment watershed. In this sense, it is fundamental to understanding the hydrosedimentological, biological and biochemical definition of strategies for better management of small watersheds and defines plans for sustainability of the agroecosystems. Thus, it was taken as hypotheses: (1) natural vegetation systems have small losses of sediment and nutrients due to rain, and the sediments have high microbial activity in relation to soils traditional agroecosystems; (2) the establishment of relationships between sedimentological, microbiological and biochemical variables is essential for the understanding and adoption of sustainable management techniques in semiarid agroecosystems; (3) the mineral composition and physical properties of the sediments produced by drag are determined by rainfall erosivity on soils of agroecosystems. To test these predictions the objectives were: (a) quantify the production and characterization of chemical, physical and mineralogical sediments by drag of differents semiarid agroecosystems; (b) evaluate changes in microbial activity, microbial biomass and enzyme activities and quantify the population of mycorrhizal fungi in sediment of differents agroecosystems; (c) evaluate the size of the sediments by drag considering the erosivity of rainfall; (d) relate the quality of soils and sediments by drag with degradation processes, to support sustainable management of agroecosystems. Systems the four watersheds were considered: (1) vegetation thinned forest (MR), with the maintenance of plant species with basal diameter ≥ 10 cm, and species of herbaceous growth; (2) native vegetation (MN), representing the natural conditions of small rural basins of the Brazilian semiarid; (3) agroecosystem with pasture Andropogon gayanus Kunt (PAST); (4) agroecosystem with usual practice subsistence agriculture (AGRS). The watersheds were instrumented with rain gauge type "Ville de Paris", gutters type Parshal, sediments collectors (bed load), and automatic meters. The results show: (1) the higher erodibility of Vertisols (forested areas and grassland) compared to Luvisol of subsistence agriculture promotes greater sediment produced by drag, regardless of typical vegetation of semiarid systems and traditional system and the number of events that promoted surface runoff ; (2) the biomass, microbial activity and the loss of spores of mycorrhizal fungi in sediments produced by drag shows sensitivity to changes in land use; (3) the fractions of quartz and feldspar mineral allows identifying this greater diversity in systems with Vertisols (MN, MR and PAST) in relation to Luvissol in the, while identification of vermiculite and smectite clays in sediments of treated samples of MR, MN and PAST characterizes those deficit drainage in relation to this system, which treated clay showed the presence of kaolinite with higher peaks; (4) the Ca+ + and K+ on sediment produced by drag constitutes an important reserve for mineral exploitation; (5) are not note a direct relationship between rainfall erosivity (EI30) and the production of sand and clay sediments produced by drag in agroecosystems (MR and MN) and traditional (PAST and AGRS); (6) the forest agroecosystems (MR and MN) have higher levels of stable aggregates (AE) compared to traditional systems (PAST and AGRS), favoring the biological quality of the soil; (7) management techniques are of great importance for the development of strategies for watershed management plans and the definition of sustainability in the semiarid region.