Published

2015-05-01

Spatial and temporal estimation of the erosivity factor R based on daily rainfall data for the department of Atlántico, Colombia

Estimación espacial y temporal del factor de erosividad de la lluvia R a partir de registros diarios de precipitación para el departamento del Atlántico, Colombia

Keywords:

Soil erosion, erosivity factor, erosivity, RUSLE, soil erosion rate (en)
Erosión de suelo, factor de erosividad, erosividad, RUSLE, tasa de erosión del suelo. (es)

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Authors

  • Boris Daniel Avila Rangel Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
  • Humberto Fabián Avila Rangel Northern University, Colombia

Soil erosion caused by rain is the detachment and movement of soil particles caused by the impact of raindrops on the surface. Erosivity factor R is a measure of the rain erosive power used for estimating the erosion rate with the RUSLE method (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation). Estimating R factor requires rainfall intensity records of storms greater than 12.5 mm or greater than 6 mm but longer than 15 min. However, most of the Colombian rainfall stations have daily rainfall records with which it is not possible to estimate the intensity of each storm and, therefore, makes it difficult to estimate the R factor for a specific area. In this paper a methodology for estimating the erosivity factor R for the department of Atlántico, Colombia from daily records of 16 IDEAM stations is presented. The spatial distribution of the erosivity factor R in the department and its temporal distribution throughout the year are also shown. The results showed a minimum erosivity factor R of 6,894 MJ∙mm∙Ha-1∙Hr-1∙yr-1 and a maximum of 10,925 MJ∙mm∙Ha-1∙Hr-1∙yr-1. The average erosivity factor R for the department of Atlántico was 8,697 MJ∙mm∙Ha-1∙Hr-1∙yr-1. This methodology might be used for estimating the erosion factor R in different Colombian regions where high-resolution precipitation data is limited, but seasonal and orographic conditions should be considered for selecting the rain gages and the area of study.

La erosión del suelo por lluvia es el desprendimiento y movilización de las partículas del suelo a causa del impacto de gotas de lluvia sobre la superficie. El factor de erosividad R es una medida de la energía erosiva de la lluvia utilizada para la estimación de la tasa de erosión en el método de RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation). La estimación de este factor requiere de registros de intensidad de precipitación superiores a 12.5 mm o superiores a 6 mm con duración mayor a15 min con intervalos de captura menores a 30 min. Sin embargo, en gran parte del territorio colombiano se cuenta con registros diarios de precipitación con los que no es posible estimar la intensidad de cada evento de lluvia, y por lo tanto se dificulta la estimación del factor R para una zona específica. En este artículo se presenta una metodología para la estimación del factor de erosividad R para el departamento del Atlántico, Colombia a partir de registros diarios de 16 estaciones IDEAM. También se muestra la distribución espacial del factor de erosividad R en el departamento y su distribución temporal a lo largo del año. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron un factor de erosividad R mínimo de 6,894 MJ∙mm∙Ha-1∙Hr-1∙año-1 y un máximo de 10,925 MJ∙mm∙Ha-1∙Hr-1∙año-1. Y para todo el departamento del Atlántico, un factor de erosividad R promedio 8,697  MJ∙mm∙Ha-1∙Hr-1∙año-1. Esta metodología podría ser usada para estimar el factor de erosión R en distintas zonas de Colombia con limitados registros de precipitación de alta resolución, siempre y cuando se tenga en cuenta condiciones estacionales y orográficas para la selección de estaciones de lluvia y el área de estudio.

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Copyright (c) 2015 Boris Daniel Avila Rangel, Humberto Fabián Avila Rangel

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