The Effects of Topography, Vegetation and Soil Properties on Hillslope Hydrology in Northeastern Brazil

Soil water dynamics, especially on hillslopes, is mainly controlled by conditions defined by topography, climate, vegetation cover and soil properties. In many areas of northeastern Brazil, semi-arid tropical soils are being rapidly modified by land-use changes which usually lead to a decrease in infiltration rates and to an increase in surface runoff and soil erosion, as well as to a reduction in groundwater recharge. This study focus on the effects of these land-use changes on the main hydrological processes close to the soil surface, especially on the soil infiltration rates and hillslope hydrology dynamics on highly weathered thick tropical soils at the southwestern portion of the Bahia state. The Caetité experimental basin (CEB) presents portions with natural savanna, agriculture, grazing, as well as those resulting from a uranium mining and milling activities. The watershed (75 km2) has an average total annual rainfall is about 710 mm, with a long dry period. Bedrock is comprised by gneisses and granites with a gentle topography covered by thick (>3m) soils. In order to assess the role played by topography, soil properties and vegetation cover in controlling soil water infiltration and redistribution along a typical hillslope, 6 soil matrix potential nests (SMPN) were installed along a 1.4 km long transect. Each nest is composed by 7 soil matrix potential sensors (installed up to 3.0 m depth), 1 soil temperature sensor and a datalogger. In parallel, field experiments were carried out at different points of the CEB in order to estimate soil infiltration rates and field-saturated hydraulic conductivities. At these points, undisturbed soil samples were collected to characterize soil texture, porosity (micro and macro), bulk density, as well as to define the soil water retention curves. The results show that dense savanna presents the highest infiltration capacity values, independently of soil and topography conditions. Besides, maximum infiltration rates may be reduced by a factor of 3 and of 30 under agriculture and grazing, respectively. Rainfall intensity, steepness and soil physical properties played major roles in controlling the temporal and spatial distribution of soil water along the transect.