Abstract

PEREZ NIETO, Joel; VALDES VELARDE, Eduardo  and  ORDAZ CHAPARRO, Víctor M.. Vegetal cover and soil erosion in shaded coffee agroforestry systems. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2012, vol.30, n.3, pp.249-259. ISSN 2395-8030.

There is little research on the magnitude of soil erosion in agroforestry systems and how vegetation cover controls the rate. The objective of this research was to examine the relationship between plant cover and soil loss by water erosion to propose values of coverage and management factor (C Factor) of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) in different shade coffee agroforestry systems. Using regression analysis, data from five micro-watersheds located in a tropical region of Veracruz, Mexico, were analyzed. Shrub and litter cover, adjusted by thickness, showed better exponential relationships congruent with the rate of loss of soil (R2 = 0.70 and R2 = 0.87). The shrub and litter cover factor (Cam) in shade coffee agroforestry systems, proposed as substitute factor c in the USLE cover factor, explained 68% of the variation of soil loss. The interval of the Cam Factor varied from 0.02 to 0.003 for shade coffee agroforestry systems; values greater than the smallest value corresponded to undisturbed forest lands and the largest value corresponding to pastures, permanent grasslands and abandoned land covered by vegetation.

Keywords : agroforestry; C Factor of the Universal Soil Loss Equation.

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