SURFACE RUNOFF OF RAINFALL IN AN EXPERIMENTAL PLANTATION OF MACAÚBA PALM (Acrocomia aculeata) UNDER DIFFERENT FORMS OF MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT Several studies have been conducted aiming to explore the commercial potential of the macaúba palm. However, research on the hydrological processes of this crop are scarce. Thus, we aimed to quantify the surface runoff in a macaúba plantation subjected to different crop management techniques, from September 2012 toAugust 2013. We established 10 plots for surface runoff quantification; each plot had a 63-m² area, was delimited by metallic foils and had a gallon to collect runoff water at its outlet. Plots consisted of three treatments and three repetitions, plus one control plot, each having four macaúba plants. Treatments were as follows: treatment one (T1) - with no soil conservation technique being implemented; treatment two (T2) - with a narrow-base terrace 40 cm wide and 30 cm deep; treatment three (T3) - with bean being planted during the rainy months, forming vegetation strips; and control treatment (T0) - with no macaúba plants, with spontaneous vegetation growing throughout the entire plot and with no soil conservation technique being implemented. Surface runoff differed among treatments. T2 was the treatment with lowest runoff and also the one that demanded the highest precipitation volume for surface runoff to occur. Our results indicate that both the cover and the use of soil conservation techniques are closely related to surface runoff, which in turn affects the occurrence of erosion and infiltration.