The soil cover by crop residues dissipates the kinetic energy of raindrops, while, the surface roughness dissipates the kinetic energy of runoff, therefore, both store water and retain sediments on surface, decreasing water erosion. The objective of this study was to determine the persistence and the influence of crop residues and surface roughness in cultivated soil on soil and water losses, compared to bare and uncovered soil under the following treatments: i) cultivated soil: covered by ryegrass mulch (Lolium multiflorum), with minimal roughness (RMC); covered by vetch mulch (Vicia sativa), with minimal roughness (VMC); chiseled after ryegrass cultivation in the absence of residues above-ground crop and presence of plant roots, with high roughness (RHR); chiseled after the vetch cultivation in the absence of above-ground crop residues and presence of plant roots, with high roughness (RHV); ii) bare soil: uncovered, chiseled, with high roughness (RHU). The experiment was carried out from May 2011, to December 2012, in experimental plots of 38.5 m² (11 m along the slope and 3.5 m width). In these treatments, eight simulated rainfall testes were applied, with 90 min of duration and planned to a constant rain intensity of 65 mm h-1 , using a rotating boom simulator rainfall moved by hydraulic thrust. The residue mass and the surface soil roughness decrease over time, especially in the vetch treatments, with more intense decrease in soil roughness in the first simulated rainfall test and in residues mass in the second rainfall test. The cultivation decreases soil losses relative to bare chiseled soil, independent of the surface conditions. Ryegrass and vetch residues reduce soil losses relative to chiseled treatments, and ryegrass reduces soil losses relative to vetch, independent of the soil management. The cultivated treatments show increasing soil loss during the time, mainly when soil was chiseled. The water losses by runoff follow the same tendency of soil losses, however, with lower differences between treatments.
surface roughness; soil cover; soil loss; water loss
