The aim of this research is to analyse the relationship between soil matrix potential and vegetation cover on an experimental station in the Gloria Farm, Uberlândia Municipality, Minas Gerais State, taking into consideration the data from tensiometers and photo comparison. We have been using the following procedures: a. two plots were set up, with 10 m square, one with bare soil and another one with geotextile and grass; b. Granulometric analyse was based on EMBRAPA; c. Monitoring of two tensiometers sets on geotextile and grass plot in different depths (15, 30, 80 e 120 cm), it was used the INFIELD 5 digital tensimeter; and d. Photo comparison data from supervised classification using remote sensing software. The results were split up into three periods: the first one, vegetation cover index ranged from 0 to 6.4% and soil matrix potential reached -20 kPa in 120 cm depth on geotextile plot; the second one, grass cover ranged from 15.2% to 59.,4% on geotextile plot and soil matrix potential achieved -32 kPa (15 cm); and finally, the third one, when vegetation cover index ranged from 63.9% to 100% and matrix potential reached -67 kPa in 30 cm depth 30.
Soil matrix potential; vegetation cover index; geotextile
