Water erosion reduces the sustainability of agricultural systems. The present study evaluated under natural rainfall, the soil, water, nutrients and organic carbon losses in a typic dystroferric Red Latosol, with 12 % slope, located at Lavras region, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The work was conducted in soil losses experimental plots. The studied treatments were: coffee under conventional cultivation with manual weeding (CCC); conventional cultivation with cleared undergrowth (CCR); conventional cultivation with herbicide use (CCH); organic cultivation with manual weeding (COC); organic cultivation with cleared undergrowth (COR); and test plot with bare soil (SD). In the systems where the expontaneous vegetation covers were maintained (cleared undergrowth) there was more efficiency of soil protection than in the systems where there was soil exposition (weeding). The system with herbicide use had an intermediate behaviour. All the management systems showed to be conservative in relation to water erosion, where the dense spacement deserves to be emphasized.
Soil; water and nutrient losses; Coffea arabica
