This work aimed to identify qualitatively the areas susceptive to laminar erosion in Uberaba river watershed, located in Uberaba-MG, Brazil, based on the mathematical model of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The following maps had been used: soil, land use, drainage net, slope and rainfall data, using a Geographic Information System (GIS - IDRISI) to analyze and manage the data that are linked to the location. The spatiality of the potential of erosion was possible from the estimative of the tolerance to laminar losses for each kind of soil in the watershed and soil depth, to understand that the losses are more significant in flatter soil than in very deep ones. In the analysis of the results, it was verified that 37% of the total area of the watershed of the Uberaba river (905,24 km²) showed losses above the tolerance limit, being 12% in deep soil and 25% in very deeply ones, and the spatiality of this event, regards to effective the actions due to soil conservation of the watershed.
USLE; erosion; environmental impact
