This study was carried out in order to determine the soil and water losses in a Yellow-red Ultisol, under four different rainfall patterns and two conditions of soil cover: area with soil uncovered and with straw after corn planting. The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of Embrapa Agrobiologia, located at Seropédica municipality, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The treatments consisted in application of simulated rainfall using variable intensity classified in different patterns as: advanced (AV), intermediate (IN), delayed (AT), and constant (CT), in a plots with 0.8 m of width and 1.0 m of length. Using a portable rainfall simulator rainfall with 30 mm total depth during 60 minutes was applied. For the patterns with varied intensity, the peak of precipitation was 110 mm h-1. The results showed the cover of the soil with corn stubble substantially reduced the rates and the soil and water losses, mainly for the pattern of constant rainfall, indicating that the residues left on the ground after harvest helps effectively in the erosion control.
water erosion; patterns rainfall; rainfall simulation
