This study was carried out in order to determine the soil, water and nutrient losses in a Yellow-Red Ultisol, under four different patterns of simulated rainfall. The experiment was conducted at the Embrapa Agrobiologia experimental field, located in the municipality of Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The study consisted in the application of simulated rains using variable rainfall intensity classified in different patterns as: advanced (AD), intermediate (IN), delayed (DE), and constant (CT), in plots 0.8 m wide and 1.0 m long. The rain had a duration of 60 min, with a total applied depth of 30 mm, and a peak of 110 mm h-1, for the variable intensity patterns. With the results obtained it was possible to verify that after 60 min of simulated DE pattern provided losses higher than CT, AD and IN, in 61.6, 46.4 and 13.6%, respectively (soil), and 42.0, 19.0 and 19.0% (run-off), respectively, for the AD, IN and CT patterns; and the nutrients losses did not differ among the rainfall patterns, being more affected by water run-off than solid material in suspension.
soil losses; run-off; precipitation patterns
