Abstract

SAMPAIO, Ligia de Freitas et al. Gully erosion, land uses, water and soil dynamics: A case study of Nazareno (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Dyna rev.fac.nac.minas [online]. 2016, vol.83, n.199, pp.198-206. ISSN 0012-7353.  https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v83n199.54843.

Gully erosion is a critical issue worldwide. To correctly understand the association that the environmental data (such as climate, vegetation cover, etc.) has with soil erosion susceptibility and land uses remains a challenge in land management. This paper evaluates land use interactions with macroscopic dynamics and microscopic soil properties in terms of soil's susceptibility to erosion. We examine the reactivation of a stabilized gully in Nazareno (Brazil) by comparing field assessments with laboratory experiments, using two types of soil (well-developed soil and granite-gneiss saprolite). Both of these showed that the macroscopic behavior of soils is connected with microscopic characteristics. Well-developed soil is more erosion resistant than granite-gneiss saprolite, but the surrounding land uses do not respect these differences. These analyses enable us to explain why this and other gullies in the municipality are apparently stabilized, but soil loss continues to occur. This paper demonstrates that urban and rural expansion played a major role in triggering gully and soil losses.

Keywords : soil loss; prevention; gullies; environmental planning.

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