Soil surface cover with crop residue modifies surface flow characteristics, generated by excess rainfall, and soil detachment and sediment transport resulting from the erosion process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic conditions, detachment and flow resistance on interrill erosion on soil covered with residue. The experiment was conducted in the laboratory, on a Hapludult soil at a slope of 0.10 m m-1, under simulated rainfall and soil surface covered with soybean residue at the rates of 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 kg m-2. The increase in soil surface cover (SC) with residue, caused an increase in water flow depth and hydraulic roughness, and a decrease in the mean flow velocity, due to an increase in the viscous forces from the physical interference of residue on runoff, thus contributing to a reduction in interrill soil detachment rate (Di). The Di was 5.35x10-4 kg m-2 s-1 for bare soil and was reduced to 1.50x10-5 kg m-2 s-1 for soil with 100% of surface cover. The Laflen's and the potential models were adequate to estimate the coefficient of soil coverage by residue in direct contact with soil as a function of the soil surface cover.
water erosion; erosion processes; erosion modeling; shallow flow; mulch
