Soil map units of Minas Gerais State from the perspective of Hydrologic Groups

Abstract

The knowledge of water availability is the basis for water resource planning and management. The Soil Map Units of the State of Minas Gerais were interpreted from the perspective of Hydrologic Groups based on the Curve Number - Soil Conservation Service method, with the addition of pedological elements of the mapped units. The generated products were used in three different physiographic environments of the Minas Gerais State. According to results, most of Minas Gerais falls within Hydrologic Groups A and B, indicating that the soils in these areas present low surface runoff and high water infiltration rates. The characterization and spatialization of the hydrological regime, with emphasis on information about the soils of Minas Gerais, as applied this study, has a level of detail not yet employed in studies of this scope, apart from the initiative to interpret them from the perspective of soil hydrological groups. The mapping of the three water resources planning and management units, composed of distinct environments, from the perspective of hydrological groups, allowed verification of the proposed methodology’s potential, which can be used to support the management and planning of the water resources of Minas Gerais. Interpretive studies of soil maps from a hydrological perspective are essential to improve our understanding of water surpluses in a given region.