Modelagem dos processos de escoamento superficial e erosão do solo em duas sub-bacias do Riacho dos Namorados na Bacia Experimental de São João do Cariri, PB.

Abstract

The activities of man modify the natural processes of runoff and erosion and in particular, within the semiarid regions where an acceleration in the runoff and erosion processes would be detrimental. Excessive erosion will lead to the loss of soil fertility and diminishing productivity of crops. Estimates of runoff and erosion obtained from a modeling process would be very important in the planning process and in the evaluation of land use changes. The present work is an attempt in modeling runoff and erosion processes into two sub-basins of Riacho dos Namorados of the Experimental Basin of São João de Cariri, using the model WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project). The processes of modeling used in this study involves several steps, such as: (1) Preparation of the entry files of data; (2) Calibration of the parameters of the model, (3) Validation of the parametersand (4) simulation. The sensibility of some of the model parameters was also investigated. The results show that the model is quite satisfactorily for the semiarid region of Paraíba.