Soil erosion, runoff and nitrogen and phosphorus losses in hillsides as affected by soil management system in Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

In Chiapas, Mexico, soil erosion is the main problem affecting the sustainability of hillside lands. As a result, yields and incomes are low, and soil quality continues to decrease. With the aim of finding sustainable technological alternatives, an evaluation was performed on the following systems: maize in conservation tillage (MLC); maize in plant barriers (MBMV) and maize alternated with fruit trees (MIAF), in terms of surface runoff, production of sediments and loss of nitrogen and phosphorous from June to November, 2009. The systems were set up in adjacent microbasins, belonging to the basin of river Catarina, Jiquipilas, Chiapas. The soil is a Typic haplustepts, with a slope that varies between 30 and 40%. Out of the total rainfalls, 54% caused soil erosion, 15% of these with rains of over 40 mm 62% of the total erosion. The runoff coefficient and the specific soil degradation were similar and lower in the micro basins; MIAF (12, 5.8 t ha-1) and MBMV (13, 6.3 t ha-1) than in the microbasin with MLC (19, 16.8 t ha-1), respectively. In MIAF, the runoff filter and total cover provided by maize and bean plants during most of the growth season played an important part in obtaining these results, despite this microbasin presenting a greater slope steepness and length. In regards to the nutrients, there was a greater loss of nitrates in the microbasin with the system MBMV, possibly due to the nitrogen contribution by the leftovers of the pruning of Gliricidia sepium. In regard to phosphorous, the system MIAF displayed a greater loss, caused by the yearly phosphoric fertilization performed on the guava trees for three years.