Experimental assessment of erosion in agricultural soils of Western Cuba

Erosion is a major threat to soil and water resources. Tropical regions present higher erosion risks due to regional rainfall characteristics. Despite severe land degradation in Cuba, empirical research on soil erosion remains limited. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the hydrological and erosion responses of five tropical soils, (2) assess their susceptibility to surface sealing and erosion due to slope steepness variation, and (3) identify soil property-erosion relationships. We conducted field and laboratory rainfall simulation experiments and analyzed soil samples for their physical-chemical and mineralogical characteristics. The study included Ferralsol, Fluvisol, Acrisol, Cambisol, and Nitisol soils from the Cuyaguateje River basin in the western region of Cuba. This study identified distinctive runoff and erosion patterns for these tropical soils, revealing behaviors that diverge from certain generalized global soil reports. For example, the Nitisol and Acrisol demonstrated the lowest erodibility due to their high aggregate stability, whereas the Cambisol and Fluvisol yielded the highest erosion rates. The Ferralsol exhibited high infiltration capacities paired with high sediment concentrations, indicating significant erosion risk under conditions of restricted permeability. Laboratory tests identified surface sealing in the Fluvisol and Nitisol, which reduced infiltration, although the Nitisol’s seal demonstrated greater stability and resistance to erosive forces. Additionally, the Fluvisol was the most sensitive to slope steepness variations. The findings indicate that soil mineralogy plays a substantial role in the erodibility of tropical clayey soils. Specifically, soils dominated by mixed mineralogy and non-swelling clays exhibited lower erodibility overall. Presents field and laboratory rainfall simulation results for Cuban soils. Nitisol and Acrisol lowest; Cambisol and Fluvisol highest erodibility. Soil mineralogy substantially influences tropical clayey soil erodibility.