This study aimed to assess the efficiency of a riparian forest to retain runoff sediments from cropped areas by means of morphological and physico-chemical characterization of a Typic Haplustox Cerrado soil along a 204 m transect. All soil samples were collected from layers of 0-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm on the cropped areas, ending on a riparian forest. The studied areas were cropped with cotton under conventional tillage system. For the morphological descriptions of soil profiles in the riparian forest, four trenches were opened. The first two descriptions done at the entrance of the forest showed the presence of non-pedogenic material over the A horizon, originated from sediments dragged off the cropped areas to the forest through erosive processes. Morphological assessment of soil profiles associated to soil analysis shows that intensive cropping changes physical and chemical attributes, especially aggregation indices, as well as organic matter and Ca contents.
soil sediments; water erosion; preserved areas
