Erosivity of rainfall in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil

The erosive capacity of rainfall can be expressed by an index and knowing it allows recommendation of soil management and conservation practices to reduce water erosion. The objective of this study was to calculate various indices of rainfall erosivity in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, identify the best one, and discover its temporal distribution. The study was conducted at the Center of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Lages, Santa Catarina, using daily rainfall charts from 1989 to 2012. Using the computer program Chuveros , 107 erosivity indices were obtained, which were based on maximum intensity in 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 135, 150, 165, 180, 210, and 240 min of duration and on the combination of these intensities with the kinetic energy obtained by the equations of Brown & Foster, Wagner & Massambani, and Wischmeier & Smith. The indices of the time period from 1993 to 2012 were correlated with the respective soil losses from the standard plot of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) in order to select the erosivity index for the region. Erosive rainfall accounted for 83 % of the mean annual total volume of 1,533 mm. The erosivity index (R factor) of rainfall recommended for Lages is the EI30, whose mean annual value is 5,033 MJ mm ha-1 h-1, and of this value, 66 % occurs from September to February. Mean annual erosivity has a return period estimated at two years with a 50 % probability of occurrence. A capacidade erosiva das chuvas pode ser expressa por um índice e o conhecimento desse permite recomendar práticas de manejo e conservação do solo, visando reduzir a erosão hídrica. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram calcular diversos índices de erosividade das chuvas de Lages, SC, e identificar o melhor entre eles, bem como conhecer a distribuição temporal dele. A pesquisa foi realizada no Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias de Lages, SC, utilizando-se pluviogramas diários de 1989 a 2012. Com auxílio do programa computacional Chuveros, foram obtidos 107 índices de erosividade com base na intensidade máxima em 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 135, 150, 165, 180, 210, 240 min de duração e na combinação dessas intensidades com a energia cinética obtida pelas equações de Brown & Foster, Wagner & Massambani e Wischmeier & Smith. Os índices do período de 1993 a 2012 foram correlacionados com as respectivas perdas de solo da parcela-padrão da Equação Universal de Per