CADERNO DE CIÊNCIAS AGRÁRIAS
Agrarian Sciences Journal
Assessment of Soil loss Tolerance limit to Latosol, Argisol and Cambisolin the southern
Minas Gerais state
Guilherme Henrique Expedito Lense
1
, Rodrigo Santos Moreira
2
, Taya Cristo Parreiras
3
, Luis Felipe Pigatto
Miranda Silva
4
, Alexandre Elias de Miranda Teodoro
5
, Derielsen Brandão Santana
6
, Talyson Melo Bolelli
7
,
Ronaldo Luiz Mincato
8
*
Abstract
Soil Loss Tolerance (T) reflects the maximum erosion rate that still allows a sustainable level of crop production. The
T limit can be used to support the conservationist land-use planning and to propose erosion mitigation measures. In
this context, we aim to determine the Soil Loss Tolerance limit to different soil classes located at the Coroado Stream
Subbasin, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. The soil classes of the subbasin area was classified as Dystrophic Red Latosols
- LVd (90.0%), Eutrophic Red-Yellow Argisols - PVAe (5.4%), and Dystrophic Tb Haplic Cambisols - CXbd (1.9%). The
following attributes were used to determine the T limits: texture, depth, density, permeability, and organic matter.
To analyzing these parameters, we collect soil samples at 18 points distributed along the subbasin area. T values
ranged from 4.75 to 7.40 Mg ha
-1
year
-1
, with the lowest limit observed for CXbd (4.75 Mg ha
-1
year
-1
). These results
indicate that the Cambisol should be prioritized in the adoption of conservation practices to reduce water erosion
and to maintain soil loss levels at acceptable rates. Latosols, Argisols, and Cambisols are the most common soils in
the Brazilian territory. Thus, the results provided by the work can be used as a reference to monitoring the erosion
process and evaluate the sustainability of agricultural activities in Brazil.
Keywords: Soil conservation. Water erosion. Agricultural sustainability.
Avaliação do limite de tolerância à perda de solo para Latossolos, Argissolos e Cambissolos
no sul de Minas Gerais
Resumo
A Tolerância de perda de solo (TPS) é um parâmetro que reflete a taxa máxima de erosão que ainda permitirá um
nível de produção sustentável das culturas agrícolas. As informações fornecidas pela TPS podem ser utilizadas como
ferramenta para mitigar os impactos da erosão e como mecanismo para a proposição de práticas conservacionistas em
bacias hidrográficas. Nesse cenário, o objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a Tolerância de Perda de Solo em diferentes
classes de solos presentes na Sub-bacia Hidrográfica do Córrego Coroado, sul de Minas Gerais. Os solos da área foram
classificados como Latossolos Vermelhos distróficos – LVd (90,0%), Argissolos Vermelho-Amarelos eutróficos – PVAe
1
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3560-9241
2
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7443-9428
3
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2621-7745
4
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5961-0717
5
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.https://org/0000-0002-1001-4145
6
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.https://org/0000-0003-2484-9984
7
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6077-5623
8
Universidade Federal de Alfenas. Alfenas, MG. Brasil.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8127-0325
*Autor para correspondência: ronaldo.mincato@unifal-mg.edu.br
Recebido para publicação em 28 de outubro de 2019. Aceito para publicação em 08 de novembro de 2019
e-ISSN: 2447-6218 / ISSN: 2447-6218 / © 2009, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Todos os direitos reservados.
Lense, G. H. E. et al.
2
Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 11, p. 01–06, 2019. e-ISSN: 2447-6218 / ISSN: 1984-6738
(5,4%) e CambissolosHáplicos Tb distróficos – CXbd (1,9%). Os limites de TPS foram determinados a partir da textura,
profundidade, densidade, permeabilidade e teor de matéria orgânica dos solos. Para determinação destes parâmetros
foram coletadas amostras de solo em 18 pontos distribuídos na sub-bacia. Os valores de TPS variaram entre 4,75
a 7,40 Mg ha
-1
ano
-1
, com menor limite observado para o CXbd (4,75 Mg ha
-1
ano
-1
). Dessa forma, o CXbd deve ser
priorizado na adoção de práticas conservacionistas afim de reduzir a erosão hídrica e manter os níveis de perdas de
solo em taxas aceitáveis. Latossolos, Argissolos e Cambissolos são os solos mais comuns no território brasileiro. Assim,
os resultados encontrados no trabalho podem ser usados como referência para o monitoramento do processo erosivo
e para promover a sustentabilidade agrícola.
Palavras-chave: Conservação do solo. Erosão hídrica. Sustentabilidade agrícola.
Introduction
After World War II, much of Europe was in ruins,
and agricultural production systems were destroyed with
various impacts on the soil. In this context, the Soil Loss
Tolerance (T) concept arise, which was focusing mainly
on the soil function in food production (Verheijen et al.,
2009).
T reflects the maximum erosion rate that still
allows a sustainable level of crop production (Wischmeier
and Smith, 1978). The ideal T value is the erosion rate
equivalent to the soil formation. However, due to the
interactions between the pedogenetic factors, measure
the soil formation rate is a complex task (Li et al., 2009).
The T limit can be used to support the conservationist
land-use planning and to propose erosion mitigation
measures in agricultural activities (Nunes et al., 2012;
Demarchi and Zimback, 2014).
The T determination in Brazilian soils is usual
in large-scale studies (Oliveira et al., 2008; Bertol and
Almeida, 2000). However, according to Duan et al. (2017),
the T limits range widely, indicating that the use of a
uniform pattern on regional-scale agricultural land is
not accurate and does not reflect efforts to maintain the
sustainability of agricultural systems. Thus, it is imperative
to determine T values in a river basin scale to improve
its application and reliability.
In this context, the objective of the study was to
determine the T limits to different soil classes located at
the Coroado Stream Subbasin, southern Minas Gerais,
Brazil.
Material and methods
Study area
The research was carried out at the Capoeirinha
farm (Ipanema Agrícola SA) located at Alfenas Muni-
cipality, southern of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the
coordinates, UTM 405062 at 406420 m E and 7618526 at
7618610 m N, zone 23K, Datum SIRGAS 2000) (Figure 1).
The area has 1285.2 ha located in the Córrego Coroa do
sub basin, which belongs to the Rio Grande hydrographic
basin. According to Köppen, the climate was classified
as Mesothermal Tropical (Cwb), with an average annual
temperature of 22 °C and an average annual rainfall of
1500 mm (Alvares et al., 2013). Altitudes range from
793 to 942 m with an average of 868 m.
The subbasin relief is present in the Declivity
Map (Figure 2), which was elaborated by the ArcMap
10.3 Slope tool (ESRI, 2015) (Figure 1), from the Digi-
tal Elevation Model extracted from the contour lines of
the Minas Gerais state map (SISEMA, 2019). The area
presents an average slope of 12.7% and a predominantly
rolling relief (8 - 20%).
Figure 1 – Location and slope map of the Coroado Stream subbasin, located at Alfenas, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil
Assessment of Soil loss Tolerance limit to Latosol, Argisol and Cambisolin the southern Minas Gerais state
3
Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 11, p. 01–06, 2019. e-ISSN: 2447-6218 / ISSN: 1984-6738
Coffee is the main subbasin land-use class and oc-
cupies 46.3% of the area. The cultivation of coffee in steep
slopes is traditional in the region and characterized the
mountain coffee. The area also presents the following land
use and occupation classes: maize (10.4%), eucalyptus
(5.3%), native and regenerating forests (29.0%), access
roads (5.1%), facilities (1.1%) and drainage (2.8%).
The land use map (Figure 2A) was elaborated
based on field surveys and images from the Landsat-8
Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite, bands 2, 3 and
4, in orbit 219, point 75, obtained from the Division
of Imaging (INPE, 2019) and process at ArcMap 10.3
software (ESRI, 2015). The soil classes of the study area
are Dystrophic Red Latosols - LVd (90.0%), Eutrophic
Red-Yellow Argisols - PVAe (5.4%), and Dystrophic Tb
Haplic Cambisols - CXbd (1.9%). The digital soil map
(Figure 2B) was prepared using the Minas Gerais State
Soil Map (UFV et al., 2010) combined with morphological
field descriptions.
Figure 2 – Land use and occupation map (A) and Digital soil map with sampling points (B) of the Coroado Stream
subbasin, located at Alfenas, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Notes: LVd = Dystrophic red Latosol, PVAe =
Eutrophic red-yellow Argisol, CXbd = Haplic Tb dystrophic Cambisol, RO = Rocky Outcrop
Soil Loss Tolerance(T)
The soil loss tolerance was calculated according
to the Equation 1 proposed by Bertol and Almeida (2000):
(Eq. 1)
Where: T is the soil loss tolerance (Mg ha
-1
year
-
1
); h is the effective soil depth (cm), limited to 100 cm;
r
a
is the ratio that expresses, mutually, the effect of the
textural relationship between the horizons B and A and
the clay content of the horizon A; m is the factor that
expresses the organic matter content in the 0 - 20 cm
soil depth; p is the soil permeability factor; Ds is the soil
density (kg dm
-3
) e 1.000 is the constant that represents
the time period required to wear a soil layer of 1000 mm
depth.
Disturb and Undisturbed soil samples were collec-
ted at 18 points in the surface (0 - 20 cm) and subsurface
(20 - 60 cm) layers, using a probe and a cylindrical sam-
pler (92.53 cm
³
), respectively (Figure 2A). Soil depth and
morphological description were determined in 40 x 40 x
60 cm micro trenches, according to Santos et al. (2005).
Soil organic matter content was determined according
to Embrapa (2017), while the particle size distribution
by the pipette method with 0.1 mol L
-1
NaOH (Gee and
Bauder, 1986) and the soil density using the undisturbed
samples (Blake and Hartge, 1986).
The ra parameter is obtained by the relation of
clay content between the surface (0 - 20 cm) and subsur-
face (20 - 60 cm) layers. For textural ratios below 1.5, r
a
values of 1.0, 0.9, and 0.8 were assigned for soils with A
horizon clay content higher than 40%, between 40 and
20%, and less than 20%, respectively. The m parameter
was also weighted at 1.00, 0.85, and 0.70 for soil organic
matter content higher than 5.0, between 5.0 and 2.5, and
less than 2.5 dag kg
-1,
respectively (Bertol and Almeida,
2000). The soil permeability was classified according to
Table 1.
Lense, G. H. E. et al.
4
Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 11, p. 01–06, 2019. e-ISSN: 2447-6218 / ISSN: 1984-6738
Table 1 – Soil permeability classes as a function of soil texture and structure degree, according to Galindo and Margolis
(1989)
Texture Structure degree
Permeability
classes
Weighting value for the T
calculation*
Clay and very clay
(Clay> 35%)
Weak Weak 0.70
Moderate Weak 0.70
Strong Moderate 0.85
Medium
(15% < clay < 35%)
Weak Moderate 0.85
Moderate Moderate 0.85
Strong Fast 1.00
Sandy
(Clay + silt < 15%)
Weak Moderate 0.85
Moderate Fast 1.00
Strong Fast 1.00
Adapted from Galindo and Margolis (1989) and Oliveira et al. (2008). Notes: T = Soil Loss Tolerance, *weighting value adapted from de Bertol e
Almeida (2000).
Results and discussion
The structure of the LVd was classified as granular
with moderate degree and medium size, while the PVAe
and CXbd classes were classified as angular blocks with
respective moderate and weak degrees, and medium
size. According to the texture, the soil was classified, as
clay (LVd and PVAe) and sandy clay loam (CXbd). PVAe
showed a higher textural relationship and soil organic
matter content (Table 2).
Table 2 - Variables analyzed for the different soil classes of the Coroado Stream Subbasin, located at Alfenas, southern
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Soil
Clay content of
Horizon A (%)
Textural relation
(g kg
-1
)
Organic matter content
(kg dm
-3
)
Average depth
(m)
LVd 54 0.95 2.56 2.70
PVAe 56 1.07 2.75 2.55
CXbd 29 1.02 2.45 0.71
Notes: LVd = Dystrophic red Latosol, PVAe = Eutrophic red-yellow Argisol, CXbd = Haplic Tb dystrophic Cambisol.
The permeability of CXbd was classified as mo-
derate, while the high clay content provided to the PVAe
and LVd classes a slow permeability. The soil depth ranged
from 0.71 to 2.70 m (Table 2), and the average density
ranged from 1.21 to 1.25 kg dm-3 (Table 3). The values
of the parameters used in the T calculations are present
in Table 3.
Table 3 – Variables used in the calculation of the Soil Loss Tolerance (T) limit in the Coroado Stream Hydrographic
Subbasin, Alfenas, south of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Soil
h r
a
m p Ds T
cm dimen. dimen. dimen. kg dm
-3
Mg ha
-1
year
-1
LVd 100 1.0 0.85 0.7 1.24 7.40
PVAe 100 1.0 0.85 0.7 1.21 7.20
CXbd 71 0.9 0.7 0.85 1.25 4.75
Notes: h = effective soil depth; r
a
= relationship that expresses, together, the effect of the textural relation between the horizons B and A and the
clay content of the A horizon; m = factor that expresses the organic matter content in the 0 - 20 cm soil depth; p = soil permeability factor; Ds =
soil density; T = soil loss tolerance; dimen = dimensionless; LVd = Dystrophic red Latosol, PVAe = Eutrophic red-yellow Argisol, CXbd = Haplic
Tb dystrophic Cambisol.
Assessment of Soil loss Tolerance limit to Latosol, Argisol and Cambisolin the southern Minas Gerais state
5
Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 11, p. 01–06, 2019. e-ISSN: 2447-6218 / ISSN: 1984-6738
We found T values lower than 11.20 Mg ha
-1
year
-
1
, which is the limit determined by Wishmeier and Smith
(1978). The results obtained for the LVd are below the
limit established by Lombardi Neto and Bertoni (1975)
that range from 9.60 to 15.00 Mg ha
-1
. According to Duan
et al. (2017), this result is due to the wide variation of
T values among the same soil classes. For PVAe, the T
limits are close to the results found by Oliveira et al.
(2008), who observed an average of 7.03 Mg ha
-1
year
-1
in Argisols of Paraíba state.
Density was the main factor that influences the
difference found between the T values of LVd and PVAe
(Table 3). Soil attributes are weighted before the T calcu-
lation, which may lead some factors to have their effect
masked or intensified in the index result. Although the
T has an empirical character, the index results cannot
faithfully indicate a tolerable soil loss. However, T is a
useful tool to support the conservationist land use plan-
ning (Bertol and Almeida, 2000).
Due to the low T limits observed for CXbd (4.75
Mg ha
-
1 year
-1
), this soil class should be prioritized in
the adoption of conservation practices to reduce water
erosion and maintain soil loss levels at acceptable rates.
Therefore, this soil should be used mainly to native ve-
getation protection and to support grasslands cultivation.
It is worth mentioning that T values do not im-
pose arbitrary restrictions on soil management, only act
as a guide to landowners make choices of management
techniques (Lombardi Neto and Bertoni, 1975). Moreover,
considering soils with slow formation rates, any losses
above 1 Mg ha
-1
year
-1
can cause irreversible damage to
its long-term quality (Stefano and Ferro, 2016). Thus, in
the short term, T can be used as a sustainability index,
but even in situations with low erosion rates, practices
that seek to reduce soil losses to values close to zero
should be adopted to ensure soil production capacity
and agricultural system sustainability.
Conclusion
We calculated the Soil Loss Tolerance limits to
Latosols, Argisols, and Cambisols in the Coroado Stream
subbasin. The limits found in the subbasin area ranged
from 4.75 to 7.40 Mg ha
-1
year
-1
, and the Latosol presents
the highest values, followed by the Argisol and Cambi-
sol. Since these are the most common soils found in the
Brazilian territory, the results provided by the work can
be used as a reference to monitoring the erosion process
and promote the sustainability of agricultural activities.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank the Fundação de Amparo à
Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) for the
scholarship offered to the first author. To Ipanema Agrícola
S. A. for funding the research and conceding the study
area. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação
de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil
(CAPES) – Finance Code 001.
References
Alvares, C. A.; Stape, J. L.; Sentelhas, P. C.; Gonçalves, J. L. M.; Sparovek,
G. 2013. Köppen’s climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorologische
Zeitschrift, 22: 711-728. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-
2948/2013/0507.
Bertol, I.; Almeida, J. A. 2000. Tolerância de perda de solo por erosão
para os principais solos do estado de Santa Catarina. Revista Brasileira
de Ciência do Solo, 24: 657-668. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/
S0100-06832000000300018.
Blake, G. R.; Hartge, K. H. 1986. Bulk density. p. 363-375. In: KLUTE, A.
Methods of soil analysis. 2. ed. Madison: American Society of Agronomy.
Demarchi, J. C.; Zimback, C. R. L. 2014. Mapeamento, erodibilidade
e tolerância de perda de solo na sub-bacia do Ribeirão das Perobas.
Energia na Agricultura, 29: 102-114. Doi: https://doi.org/10.17224/
EnergAgric.2014v29n2p102-114.
Duan, X.; Shi, X.; Li, Y.; Rong, L.; Fen, D. 2017. A new method to
calculate soil loss tolerance for sustainable soil productivity in farmland.
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 37: 2-13. Doi: https://doi.
org/10.1007/s13593-016-0409-3.
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – Embrapa. 2017. Manual
de métodos de análise do solo. 3. ed. rev. Brasília, DF: Embrapa.
Disponível em :https://www.infoteca.cnptia.embrapa.br/bitstream/
doc/990374/1/ManualdeMtodosdeAnilisedeSolo.pdf
Environmental Systems Research Institute – ESRI. 2015. ARCGIS
Professional GIS for the desktop version 10.3. Redlands, Califórnia,
EUA, Software.
Galindo, I. C.; Margolis, E. 1989. Tolerância de perdas por erosão
para solos do Estado de Pernambuco. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do
Solo, 13: 95- 100.
Gee, G. W.; Bauder, J. W. 1986. Particle-size analysis. p. 383-411. In:
KLUTE, A. Methods of soil analysis: physical and mineralogical methods.
2. ed. Madison: American Society of Agronomy.
Infraestrutura de Dados Espaciais do Sistema Estadual de Meio Ambiente
e Recursos Hídricos - SISEMA. 2019. Plataforma digital de dados
espaciais. Belo Horizonte: IDE-Sisema, 2019. Available in: http://
idesisema.meioambiente.mg.gov.br/.
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE. 2019. SGI 2.5 Divisão
de Geração de Imagens (DIDGI). SGI. Imagem Geosistemas, São José
dos Campos: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais. Available in:
http://www.dgi.inpe.br/CDSR/.
Li, L.; Du, S.; Wu, L.; Liu, G. 2009. An overview of soil loss tolerance.
Catena, 78: 93-99. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2009.03.007.
Lombardi Neto, F.; Bertoni, J. 1975. Tolerância de perdas de terra
para solo do Estado de São Paulo. Campinas, Instituto Agronômico
de Campinas.
Lense, G. H. E. et al.
6
Cad. Ciênc. Agrá., v. 11, p. 01–06, 2019. e-ISSN: 2447-6218 / ISSN: 1984-6738
Nunes, J. G.; Campos, M. C. C; Oliveira, F. P; Nunes, J. C. 2012.
Tolerância de perda de solo por erosão na região sul do Amazonas.
Ambiência - Revista do Setor de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, 8:
859-868. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5777/ambiencia.2012.05.05.
Oliveira, F. P.; Santos, D.; Silva, I. F.; Silva, M. L. N. Tolerância de perda
de solo para o Estado da Paraíba. Revista de Biologia e Ciência da
Terra, 8: 60-71, 2008. Available in: http://www.dcs.ufla.br/site/_adm/
upload/file/pdf/Prof%20Marx/Aula%204/Art%20estudo/Oliveira%20
et%20al_%202008.pdf.
Santos, R. D.; Lemos, R. C.; Santos, H. G.; Ker, J. C.; Anjos, L. H. C.
2005. Manual de descrição e coleta de solos no campo. 5. ed. Viçosa:
Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo - SBCS, Empresa Brasileira
de Pesquisa Agropecuária - Embrapa, Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de
Solos - Cnps.
Stefano, C. D.; Ferro, V. 2016. Establishing soil loss tolerance: an
overview. Journal of Agricultural Engineering, Paiva, 47: 127-133,
2016. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4081/jae.2016.560.
UFV - CETEC - UFLA – FEAM, 2010. Mapa de solos do Estado de
Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente.
Available in: http://www.feam.br/noticias/1/949-mapas-de-solo-do-
estado-de-minas-gerais.
Verheijen, G. G. A.; Jones, R. J. A.; Rickson, R. J., Smith, C. J. 2009.
Tolerable versus actual soil erosion rates in Europe. Earth-Science Reviews,
94: 23-38. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.02.003.
Wischmeier, W. H.; Smith, D. D. 1978. Predicting rainfall erosion losses.
A guide to conservation planning. Supersedes Agriculture Handbook.
Washington, United States Department of Agriculture. Diponível em:
https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/64080530/RUSLE/AH_703.
pdf
