A temporal and spatial simulation of the sediment input in an agricultural basin in the municipality of Fernandópolis, São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT The characterization of sediment input in watersheds is an important tool for projects that support soil conservation and watershed management. A spatial and temporal analysis of the sediment input in an agricultural watershed tributary of Santa Rita River was performed by means of a geoprocessing simulation in the municipality of Fernandópolis, São Paulo, Brazil. In order to accomplish this, there was a simulation of sediment delivery using the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) method for basins, from October 2012 to September 2013. There was a total of 433.87 t of sediments contributed in the period evaluated, resulting in an average soil loss of 3,635 t.ha-1.yr-1. The period with the greatest amount of sediment input was from December 2012 to March 2013. 65.1% of all the sediments were produced at that time. In the most critical month of sediment input, February 2013, about 15% of the total basin area showed sediment contributions ranging from 2 to 15 t.ha-1.yr-1. Sugarcane contributed the most sediment, accounting for 92% of the total, and an average of 6,343 t.ha-1.yr-1.