Water erosion and supply of material for fluvial transport under episodic surface flow conditions in the semi-arid zone on Boa Vista (Cabo Verde)

This paper presents the effects of the natural conditions of the semi-arid zone on the tem-poral and spatial variability of production and supply of material for fluvial transport under conditions of episodic surface flow. Based on measurements of water runoff, concentration of suspension and dissolved material in the course of a one-hour rainfall, it has been determined that the catchments under study have a considerable resistance to the effects of water erosion. Some protection is supplied by the ablation pavement, which reduces rainsplash and slopewash and prevents flow concentration. Consid-erably more erosion has been noted on unpaved roads concentrating water flow even on plateaux and gently inclined slopes. Obviously the potential for leaching rock material in short-duration flow is limited. Large proportions of the dissolved material carried away from the catchments are salts of marine and aeolian provenance. The high intensity of erosional processes in the early phase of runoff is evidence of the role of physical weathering between rainfalls, which supplies the material for fluvial transport.