02581naa a2200313 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006002400850007410000170015924501470017626000090032352015510033265000330188365000150191665000220193165000230195365000220197665000260199865300190202465300210204365300310206470000210209570000160211670000160213270000270214870000240217577300680219920053682015-01-13       2014    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d  a0378-37747 ahttp://dx.doi.org.ez103.periodicos.capes.gov.br/10.1016/j.agwat.2014.02.0062DOI1 aZOLIN, C. A.  aThe first Brazilian municipal initiative of payments for environmental services and its potential for soil conservationh[electronic resource]  c2014  aIt has become evident that policies aimed at mitigating the growing water resources and water use conflicts in Brazil are crucial. The municipality of Extrema in Minas Gerais state in Brazil pioneered the first Brazilian municipal PES initiative (Conservador das Águas program), based on the relationship between forests and the benefits they provide. This study aimed to assess soil loss in the Posses sub-basin, where the Conservador das Águas program began. Additionally, we aimed to determine the potential that this PES initiative has for soil conservation, as well as to minimize the soil losses as a function of forest area size and location in order to propose a technical approach for implementing PES. In this sense, considering the prescribed conservation practices, land use situation, and soil cover in the Posses sub-basin, we analyzed the effectiveness of the Conservador das Águas program before and after implementation in relation to reduced soil loss under 36 different land use and soil cover scenarios. We used a geographic information system (GIS) for spatializing and producing different information plans and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) for estimating soil loss. As a result, we found that minimization of soil loss may be obtained by adopting pasture conservation practices. Additionally the expected average soil loss in the Posses sub-basin under conditions of land use and soil cover, before and after implementing the water conservation program was 30.63 and 7.06 Mg ha-1 year-1, respectively.  aEnvironmental sustainability  aland cover  asoil conservation  aWater conservation  aCobertura do Solo  aConservação do Solo  aSustainability  aSustentabilidade  aWater conservation program1 aFOLEGATTI, M. V.1 aMINGOTI, R.1 aPAULINO, J.1 aSÁNCHEZ-ROMÁN, R. M.1 aGONZÁLEZ, A. M. O.  tAgricultural Water Managementgv. 137, n. 5, p.75-83, mai. 2014