Estimativa e espacialização do Índice de Erosividade de Chuvas (Ei30) na sub-bacia do rio Coreaú, Ceará

Abstract

Erosion caused by rainfall causes soil damages, which may cause several environmental issues, such as aggradation and water resources pollution, as well as damaging the economic practices related to agriculture and livestock. This paper aimed at quantifying and spatializing the erosivity index (EI30), as well as estimate the R factor, in the Coreaú River subbasin, using geoprocessing tools.The studied area is located in the Northwest Cearense macroregion, between geographic coordinates 2 ° 59'15.34 "S / 41 ° 14'59.90" ° and 3 ° 58'59.52 "S / 40 ° 24'49.03" W. The adopted methodology was monthly erosivity’s calculation in a 23-year period, on 27 rain gauges. The regression equation between mean yearly erosion index (EI30) and rainfall coefficient (Rc) was better settled for the linear model with a determination coefficient R² of 0,92. In the studied river basin, the R factor prevailed in the strong range. Finally, it is up to the water resources managers to estimate this index to correctly propose mitigating measures in order to reduce the potential environmental impacts.