Foram estudados os efeitos do manejo e da cobertura do solo sobre as perdas de solo e água provocadas por chuvas erosivas, num solo Bruno Não-Cálcico. Os dados correspondentes aos anos de 1983 a 1990 foram obtidos na Bacia Experimental de Sumé, PB, inserida dentro da Bacia Representativa de Sumé e operada pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), Campus II, Campina Grande. O experimento constituiu-se de uma parcela desmatada e mantida em alqueive contínuo, de duas desmatadas, uma com caatinga nativa, de duas parcelas com cobertura morta, uma com palma cultivada morro abaixo e de uma parcela com palma cultivada em nível. A parcela desmatada em alqueive contínuo contribuiu com perdas anuais de solo e água de 23,1 t ha-1 e 201 mm, respectivamente. Nas parcelas desmatadas as perdas de solo e água foram de 35,7 e 58,5 t ha-1 e 224,2 e 241,0 mm, respectivamente, enquanto a parcela com caatinga nativa e quando comparada com a parcela desmatada, teve uma redução na perda de solo em cerca de 99% e na perda de água em torno de 89%; já nas parcelas com cobertura morta houve redução de aproximadamente 99% das perdas de solo e 74% das perdas de água em relação às parcelas desmatadas. A palma cultivada em nível reduziu as perdas de solo em 53,4%, quando comparada àquela cultivada morro abaixo.

The effect of the soil cover management and conservation practice on soil and water losses caused by the erosivity of rainfall in Haplargid soil have been analyzed in this paper. The field data corresponding to the years 1983-1990 were collected at the Experimental Basin of Sumé, PB operated by the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). The experimental data resulting from one erosion plot cleared bare of vegetation and continuously ploughed in, two cleared bare runoff plots, one runoff plot with native semiarid vegetation, two mulched runoff plots, one plot with cactus planted down the slope and one plot with cactus planted along contour lines were used in the analysis. The bare ploughed plot contributed with annual soil and water losses of 23.1 t ha-1 and 201 mm respectively. In the cleared runoff plots, the soil losses were of 35.7 and 58.5 t ha-1 and the water losses of 224.2 and 241.0 mm, respectively. The runoff plot with native semiarid vegetation when compared with the bare runoff plots, showed a reduction in the soil losses of about 99% and the water losses of around 89%, while in mulched runoff plots there was a reduction of approximately 99% of soil losses and 74% of water losses when compared with the bare plots. The contour planted cactus plot reduced the soil losses by about 53.4% compared with the down the slope planted cactus plot.