Soil erosion related processes in a small sugarcane watershed of Southeast Brazil

• Grant number: 16/02069-6
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): April 29, 2016
• Effective date (End): December 09, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal researcher: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Taciana Figueiredo Gomes
• Supervisor abroad: Gerard Leopold Govers
• Home Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/15281-5 - Dynamics of erosion in a watershed covered by sugar cane., BP.DR

Abstract

Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugar and sugarcane ethanol, hence, sugarcane agriculture in the country is quite extensive, covering an area of about 10 million ha of arable land and ranking as the third largest crop after corn and soybean. Nevertheless, our knowledge about the impacts of sugarcane produced in Brazil is still limited, especially for water and soils, and presents a serious obstacle in assessing sugarcane production sustainability. Soil erosion and its implications are some of the neglected environmental problems in sugarcane fields. Thus, this project aims to investigate the erosion dynamics in a small sugarcane catchment of Southeast Brazil. To achieve this goal, a plot of 6 hectares cropped with sugarcane, encompassing a 30 meters of riparian forest bordering a stream was chosen. One pluviometer was installed in an open area near to crop in order to measure the amount and intensity of rain during the rainy season. Surface runoff generation and soil detachment were estimated by plots installed in cultivated and riparian areas. Bathymetry was carried out in the stream channel to estimate the soil mass settled on the stream bed. The sources of organic matter were investigated by carbon (´13C) and nitrogen (´15N) stable isotopic compositions. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GOMES, TACIANA F.; VAN DE BROEK, MARIJN; GOVERS, GERARD; SILVA, ROBSON W. C.; MORAES, JORGE M.; CAMARGO, PLINIO B.; MAZZI, EDMAR A.; MARTINELLI, LUIZ A. Runoff, soil loss, and sources of particulate organic carbon delivered to streams by sugarcane and riparian areas: An isotopic approach. CATENA, v. 181, OCT 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.