ABSTRACT
Transformations in land use since the 1950s have affected large areas of the tropics. Conversion of native vegetation to cropping and pastures has been widespread in all biomes of the tropics. Low productivity pastures are characterized by low liveweight gains during the wet season and liveweight losses during the dry season. Soil carbon content and total carbon stocks are among the main factors that integrate the effects of management when vegetation and tillage are changed. Runoff and sediments were collected twice a week between October and May during two successive rainy seasons, from 2000 to 2002. Soil and sediment carbon contents were determined by the wet oxidation method. Soil carbon losses depended strictly on soil losses because carbon content in the topsoil varied little. The enrichment ratio is defined as the ratio of the concentration of any given component in the eroded materials to that in the contributing soils.
