3.3 Land Use and Occupation
The conservationist practices adopted were: improvement of vegetation
cover, through direct planting in the straw or management of pastures by
correcting and fertilizing the soil; crop rotation: Integrated
Crop-Livestock System; and bioengineering. Mechanical practices were
also implemented for the control of gully erosion, such as agricultural
terracing, containment basins and divergent channels for the conduction
of run-off to the drainage channels and bottom drain, as well as
disciplinary measures, such as capture, relocation and dispersion of
rainwater contributions from dirt roads (Figure 2). After the farmers
were notified, we have observed that they were more aware, and made an
effort to implement conservation practices on the properties, as a
preventive measure. Inspecting the use and conservation of the soil is
important, not only for the preservation of the soil and water but also
for increased profit earned by the rural producer (Table 3). In most
agricultural properties where pastures were restored, farmers occupied
additional 31% of their lands, therefore generating higher income from
their activities.
The ”in loco” survey for land use and occupation (Table 2) demonstrates
that the following crops predominate at the watershed: pastures, with
30,472 ha; coffee, with a surface of 2,798 ha; fruit (mango, coconut,
and citrus), with 136 ha; eucalyptus, with 95 ha; vegetables, with 60
ha: passion fruit, with 15 ha; annual crops (corn and beans), with 181
ha; sugar cane, with 37 ha; and preserved forest, with 10,606 ha,
covering the slopes of the geological formation known as ”Itambé”.