Tillage changes the physical conditions of the soil surface and subsurface and, consequently, influences values of the parameters related to water erosion. This study aimed to determine, from June 2005 to March 2006, the effect of a chiseling operation and of the rainfall erosivity on some parameters related to the soil water erosion in a Nitosol under the following soil management systems: (a) conventional tillage without soil cultivation (BSE), (b) conventional tillage (CTE), (c) no-tillage in never-tilled soil and with burned crop residue (NQE), and (d) traditional no-tillage (NTE). In CTE, NQE and NTE treatments, black oat, soybean, vetch, corn, oat, bean, fodder radish, soybean, vetch, corn and oat were cropped in rotation during five and a half years. After chiseling, five rainfall tests were simulated (intensity of 64 mm h-1) during 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min. Between the second and third test there was 57 mm natural rainfall, 21 mm between the third and fourth test, and 30 mm between the fourth and fifth test. Soil moisture content, surface roughness, time of puddle formation and the beginning of runoff, soil water infiltration, total runoff, sediment concentration in runoff, and total soil loss were determined prior to each rainfall test. There was virtually no variation in soil water content in the treatments and rainfall tests. The surface roughness was influenced by the previous soil management and was lower in BSE than in the other treatments, which did not differ from each other. At the end of the rainfall tests, the soil surface roughness was lower than at the beginning in all treatments, except in BSE. This roughness pattern influenced the puddling of rainfall water on the soil surface, and especially the beginning of runoff, and affected the soil water infiltration and runoff volume. The NTE treatment was the most effective to reduce the runoff volume, sediment concentration in the runoff and total soil loss. The exponential model (y = a e-bx) was adjusted to soil loss and rainfall erosivity data for the soil without cultivation. Data from the soil under conventional soil tillage, no-tillage with residue burning and no-tillage with residue maintenance, it was adjusted a linear model (y = a + bx).
simulated rainfall; roughness; runoff; soil loss
