Erosión del suelo, escurrimiento y pérdida de nitrógeno y fósforo en laderas bajo diferentes sistemas de manejo en Chiapas, México

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 3 0 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...