The estimation of the erosion-threatened lands used for cocoa crops in San Lorenzo canton, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador

Abstract:

The soil condition on the slopes used for the cocoa crops has been analyzed. The investigated territory lies in the equatorial plains of South America at the Pacific Coast. The field investigations and the soil samples were taken in the cocoa crops zones. The sites with 3° and 8° inclination angle of slopes were chosen for the analysis. It was found that the higher inclination angle provokes more intensive soil degradation processes and the organic content loss. The organic matter content range in the plow layer decreases from 9.74% to 3.26%. The main degradation factor is the erosion, namely, the sheet erosion of the surface soil. The linear erosion forms are insignificant. The slopes with no more than 3° inclination angle are charachterised by less organic content loss caused by the sheet erosion and appear to be more suitable for the cocoa crops in the investigated zone.

Año de publicación:

2018

Keywords:

Fuente:

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