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”.