The use of rainfall simulators in the quantification of infiltration, run-off and soil losses

SFEIR, ALBERTO; VARNI, MARCELO; PISCITELLI, MARCELA; CRESPO, ROBERTO JAVIER; ARES, MARÍA GUADALUPE; USUNOFF, EDUARDO

Philadelphia

Congreso; 18th World Congress of Soil Science-Frontiers of Soil Science; 2006

The intensification of agricultural production is defining changes in the water dynamics of the landscape. In the centre of the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina) the most important modifications refer to the organic matter balance and the physical state of soil. Therefore, the distribution of soil pores and the distribution of water from rainfalls are affected. Thus, giving rise to the hypothesis that water infiltration of soil is being significantly affected and that superficial run-off as well as the supply of sediments are increasing. Degradation by water erosion and the occurrence of floods might be influenced by these causes. Measurement of infiltration, run-off and the supply of sediments through the use of rainfall simulators in the different representative situations of the area allow for the fast disposal of valuable data applicable to models of quantification of erosion processes and prediction of floods, which at present use theoretical coefficients in their estimations.