02549nam a2200169 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000250006024501460008526001080023152019470033965000150228670000210230170000190232270000190234170000190236020375822016-04-15       2015    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aFIGUEIREDO, R. de O.  aMonitoring two small catchments to evaluate effects of no-tillage agricultural management in São Paulo state, Brazil.h[electronic resource]  aIn: 2015 AGU FALL MEETING, 2015, San Francisco. E-posters... San Francisco: 2015. Ref. H43B-1477.c2015  aIn recent years, declines in water and soil quality have been observed in areas of Brazil where no-till agriculture had been previously implemented. Poor soil management associated with the absence of public policies has caused soil erosion, because many farmers are moving back from no-till to traditional cultivation for faster economic gains. A research project ? SoloVivo Project - leaded by Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) in partnership with Itaipu Binacional aims to develop and validate, in a participatory way, tools to evaluate the technical performance of soil and water management at the rural properties that practice notill agriculture. In this context we have selected two paired small (&lt 100 ha) catchments in the Paranapanema region, São Paulo State, where no-till management is practiced at two different degrees of effectiveness. In the figure bellow it can be seen a scene of one of the two studied catchments. For monitoring rainfall, soil solution and stream water, each catchment will be equipped with a programmable datalogger (with cell phone communication for data collection) linked to: a high intensity tipping bucket rain gage; a reflectometer to monitor soil volumetric water content, bulk electric conductivity and temperature; a radar water level sensor; a turbidity sensor; and an electric conductivity-temperature probe. We expect that stream flow and sediment generation, besides water quality (measured by conductivity) may serve as indicators of the benefits of no-tillage agriculture done more or less well. The results of this study will be used to stimulate discussions at workshops with the farmers who participate in a rural producers association in the region. In addition this and other results can be used to help the Brazilian National Water Agency (ANA) decide about applying no-till agricultural management systems in its programs of payment for environmental services.  aWatersheds1 aGONCALVES, A. O.1 aMELO, A. da S.1 aBONA, F. D. de1 aHERNANI, L. C.