Erosion Hazards Index for Lateritic Soils

Abstract

Lateritic soils found around Belo Horizonte City, Brazil, are highly weathered, acidic, developed in place, and prone to erosion and landslides. Engineers consider similar soils to cover 65% of the Brazilian superficial area. This paper presents a reconnaissance survey of erosion hazards in the City of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The survey covered more than 1,800 erosion-prone areas. From this study, a georeferenced map was constructed and an erosion index was established to estimate soil loss in each studied area. The erosion indexing methodology and the map, which is based on measured data, are useful with respect to information on erosion hazards in the region. Also, they provide national institutions with a general appraisal of the overall extent of soil erosion in Belo Horizonte. Results have shown that 74% of the registered eroded sites are located in the “Complex Belo Horizonte” geology, where