Considering that Brazil and many other countries with tropical ecosystems need to enhance methods of embankment cover, it is necessary to study the enhancement of available erosion control means. The study objective was to evaluate the efficiency of three commercial erosion mats: MacMat®, Fibrax® and Tela Biotêxtil® in rainfall surface erosion protection. The experiment was carried out between December 2003 and March 2004 on an embankment of a road section in Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Surface runoff from the experimental area was analyzed based on eight rainfall events and data of the following variables: solid mass and volume of suspended soil + water runoff. These data were compared in relation to geotextiles with or without vegetation (a mixture of grass and legume species). The treatments were: Treatment 1 - Control (exposed soil); Treatment 2 - Tela Biotêxtil® with plants; Treatment 3 - MacMat® without plants; Treatment 4 - MacMat® with plants; Treatment 5 - Fibrax® without plants and Treatment 6 - Fibrax® with plants. The Tukey test was used at 5% for the statistical analysis. Although no significant differences were found among treatments due to the high variation coefficient, it was obvious that erosion mats generally reduce soil loss. Treatment 6 was the most efficient. The volume of suspended soil + water runoff was however highest in Treatment 5 (mat without plants). The erosion mats enhanced soil protection against surface erosion by rainwater; vegetation planting along with the mats improved results for all treatments.
soil erosion; soil loss; runoff; geotextiles; steep slope
