The Cariri Experimental Basins

Código

XXIV-SBRH0713

Autores

Vajapeyam Srirangachar Srinivasan, HUGO MORAIS DE ALCÂNTARA, Carlos de Oliveira Galvão, Ulisses Alencar Bezerra, John Elton de Brito Leite Cunha

Tema

SE07.A - Bacias Experimentais e Representativas: pesquisa, inovação, perspectivas e desafios

Resumo

Two experimental basins were installed in a typically semiarid region in the State of Paraíba, Brazil, for obtaining reliable estimates of runoff and soil erosion in different scales to evaluate the influence of the human activities and other factors over the processes of runoff and erosion. In the first basin located in Sumé, the field studies were carried out at three different scales: four micro-basins with an area of around 0.5 ha; nine plots of 100 m2 and seven sample plots of 1 m2. The experimental units, except the sample plots, were subjected to natural rainfall events only, and were monitored from 1982 to 1991. The units had varied vegetal cover and management. The total runoff and total sediment yield were determined for each of the events of precipitation observed. The installations of the second basin, the Experimental Basin of São João do Cariri (EBSJC), were planned for the continuation of the studies initiated at Sumé. EBSJC experimental units include erosion plots (100 m2), micro-basins, and sub-basins, which are being monitored for runoff and sediment production up to now. Among them three nested micro-basins were monitored, in order to detect any scale effect at the micro-basin level. Nearly 600 events of natural precipitation, that produced runoff in at least one of the experimental units, have been registered. This bulk of data was utilised to evaluate the influence of various factors including cultivation practices.