Changing hydrological processes and soil characteristics are of major environmental concern in surface mining. Runoff may be the best factor for determining the efficiency of rehabilitation after this type of mining, and needs more in-depth studies, but the environmental factors require more attention in order to control that runoff.The objective of this study was to compare the runoff during post-mining rehabilitation after the extraction of bauxite with that before mining, and to identify the factors that most affect it. Runoff from before the mining operations and during the rehabilitation after those operations were collected in seven plots in the area of a bauxite mine in southeastern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The physical-environmental and anthropic factors interfering with the runoff were characterized for both periods, and their results were submitted to principal component analysis to define the parameters, which most demand attention in the mining rehabilitation stage. This study provides the first records of runoff in the field in areas rehabilitated after surface mining in Brazil, where the runoff decreased (1.75-times or 42.79%) from 0.76 to 0.30% of the precipitation during rehabilitation, compared to the reference area.The total porosity, density, and resistance of the soil, associated with the maintenance of slope, surface roughness, and vegetation cover, are the factors demanding more attention during the rehabilitation stage of surface mining in order to minimize runoff.

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O objetivo foi analisar a capacidade de manutenção da umidade do solo sob diferentes coberturas vegetais (eucalipto, mata nativa e pastagem) em estágio maduro de desenvolvimento em uma bacia hidrográfica na Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais. Três amostras compostas deformadas de solo por parcela foram coletadas nas profundidades de 0-10 e 10-20 cm para análise da matéria orgânica e das propriedades físicas dos solos (textura, porosidade total, densidade de solo e densidade de partículas). A umidade foi monitorada através de amostras de solo, nas profundidades avaliadas, a cada sete dias, durante cinco semanas. O solo sob plantio de eucalipto apresentou os menores valores de densidade de solo e de partículas, em comparação aos solos sob pastagem e mata nativa. A mata nativa apresentou maior contribuição na formação de matéria orgânica do solo (MOS). O eucalipto foi a cobertura vegetal que melhor reteve umidade do solo, seguido da mata nativa e pastagem (eucalipto > mata nativa > pastagem). O manejo inadequado da pastagem afeta negativamente o conteúdo de matéria orgânica e a capacidade de manutenção da umidade no solo. Plantios de eucalipto, quando bem manejados, favorecem o incremento de matéria orgânica no solo, aumentando a capacidade de retenção de água.

The objective of this study was to monitor and compare runoff at 2.5 and 3.5 years of rehabilitation of a mined bauxite area with clonal planting of Eucalyptus. Seven plots were allocated for collecting runoff and precipitation was recorded with a pluviograph. The physical and environmental factors which interfere with runoff were characterized in both periods and subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to show the most explanatory factors. The average monthly runoff percentage at 2.5 years was 0.25% (± 0.26%) of precipitation and equal (p-value<0.05) to the 3.5 years (0.15 ± 0.22%) of rehabilitation. Both values were lower than the Eucalyptus plantation area without mining (0.56%) in the same region and declivity. The high vegetation cover percentage by Eucalyptus crowns and Brachiaria sp. and the high infiltration rates were the determining factors in PCA, and may explain the statistically equal runoff values between the rehabilitation periods. The combination of good edaphic conditions and the fast coverage of the plants resulted in runoff below 1% in a rehabilitated area after bauxite mining.

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