Seasonal and spatial patterns of erosivity in a tropical watershed of the Colombian Andes

The Dosquebradas Basin, in the central coffee growing region of Colombia, covers an area of 58 km2 between 1350 and 2150 m of elevation, with an annual precipitation of 2600–3200 mm. Seasonal erosivity (EI30), as defined by the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), was calculated for 11 years of record (1987–1997) from six pluviographic stations located within 21 km of the basin. Regression models for each station indicated that storm rainfall explained 61–70% of the variation in storm erosivity. Individual storms represented as much as 25% of the annual EI30 (10,409–15,975 MJ mm ha−1 h−1 yr−1). At the seasonal scale, the explained variation increased to 75–86%. There was a significant difference between wet and dry seasons, with higher values and larger increases in erosivity per unit increase in rainfall during the wet seasons. Two pooled regression models, one for the wet and one for the dry seasons, were created and used to estimate seasonal erosivity for 10 stations with pluviometric data. Interpolation surfaces were created from seasonal values using the local polynomial algorithm. Spatial patterns of erosivity were related to (a) the regional elevation gradient, particularly important during the dry seasons, and (b) local topographic effects, particularly during the wet seasons. Our findings underscore the importance of using seasonal erosivity values and local rainfall intensity records in tropical mountainous regions characterized by marked rainfall seasonality and complex topography.