Rainfall Erosivity over Brazil: A Large National Database

• Published in: Data (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 10; p. 120
• Main Authors: Oliveira-Roza, Mariza P., Cecílio, Roberto A., Teixeira, David B. S., Moreira, Michel C., Almeida, André Q., Xavier, Alexandre C., Zanetti, Sidney S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Annual rainfall; Climate change; Datasets; Environmental aspects; environmental conservation; Environmental management; Methods; Municipalities; pluviographic data; Public policy; Rain; Rain and rainfall; Regions; Soil conservation; Soil erosion; Soil water; synthetic rainfall series; Time series; Water conservation; Water shortages; watershed management; Brazil
• ISSN: 2306-5729; 2306-5729
• DOI: 10.3390/data9100120

Rainfall erosivity (RE) represents the potential of rainfall to cause soil erosion, and understanding its impact is essential for the adoption of soil and water conservation practices. Although several studies have estimated RE for Brazil, currently, no single reliable and easily accessible database exists for the country. To fill this gap, this work aimed to review the research and generate a rainfall erosivity database for Brazil. Data were gathered from studies that determined rainfall erosivity from observed rainfall records and synthetic rainfall series. Monthly and annual rainfall erosivity values were organized on a spreadsheet and in the shapefile format. In total, 54 studies from 1990 to 2023 were analyzed, resulting in the compilation of 5516 erosivity values for Brazil, of which 6.3% were pluviographic, and 93.7% were synthetic. The regions with the highest availability of information were the Northeast (35.6%), Southeast (30.1%), South (19.9%), Central-West (7.7%), and North (6.7%). The database, which can be accessed on the Mendeley Data platform, can aid professionals and researchers in adopting public policies and carrying out studies aimed at environmental conservation and management basin development.