Soil loss tolerance refers to the maximum rate of annual soil loss that will permit crop productivity to be obtained economically and indefinitely. Besides the usual form, it can also be used in the Universal Soil Loss Equation as a criteria to better define terrace spacing on croplands. This research work was developed during 1998, at the Agroveterinary Center/UDESC, in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, to establish soil loss tolerance values by water erosion for 73 soil profiles of Santa Catarina, grouped within 19 taxonomic classes, and using three methods: (a) Method I, based on both rooting depth and textural ratio between B and A horizons; (b) Method II, similar to Method I, plus the clay content in the A horizon; and (c) Method III, similar to Method II, plus the organic matter content in the 0-20 cm soil depth and the soil permeability of the soil profile. Tolerance values for the studied soils varied from 0.15 to 1.16 mm year-1, depending on both soil type and estimation method. Latosols (except for the brown/reddish), Podzolic soils, brown structured earth, Cambisols, and Quartz sands showed lower values of soil loss tolerance by method III - which is suggested for estimating T-values for these soils - than methods I and II. Litolic soils, brunizens, red and brown/reddish structured earth, and brown/reddish Latosols showed similar soil loss tolerance values, regardless of the method used. Therefore, for these soils, any of the three methods studied can be used for estimating soil loss tolerance values.
Universal Soil Loss Equation; soil loss tolerance; effective soil depth; textural relation; erosion rate