Abordagem morfopedológica na avaliação da suscetibilidade à erosão dos solos em Vale de São Domingos (MT)

Erosion processes are responsible for the transport of soil particles, causing silting of rivers and springs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility to soil erosion and land use conflicts in the municipality of Vale Sao Domingos/Mato Grosso State, considering that it presented a strong population growth in the last decades, which implies on new ways to use the geographic space. The methodological procedures adopted were: morpho-pedological mapping, carried out in association with the municipal soils and geomorphology maps; generation of a map on erosion susceptibility, overlapping of maps on the degree of erosion and slope; susceptibility to erosion; execution of land cover and land use maps as well as maps on erosion potential, land use capacity and land use conflicts. In the municipality of Vale Sao Domingos, the predominance of Quartz-arenic Neosols was identified in 59.11% of its area, on gentle rolling and undulating relief. There is a predominance of a class which is extremely susceptible to erosion, as well as areas with a high potential for water erosion in this municipality. According to the evaluation of land use capacity it was possible to define Class VII of this capacity as the most appropriate in 59.34% of the municipality’s area. The class on high conflicts for land use was the predominant one, showing that the human activities are affecting negatively the soil quality, as well as the natural resources of the area under study. A need for conservation practices for the use of these soils was verified, due to the predominance of fragile soils in this municipality.