Abstract The objective of this paper was to experimentally investigate the hydrological effect of land use on overland flow at micro-scale. The research was based on field experiments made with stationary and expeditionary measurements on runoff plots. Plots are located in the Curvature Subcarpathians, form part of the Aldeni Experimental Basin (Romania) and cover an area of 80 m². The land is covered with perennial grass and bare soil. The experiments in this field were performed under natural and simulated rainfalls. The plots data (rainfall and discharges) obtained during the experiments conducted in the warm semester (IV–IX) and one artificial rainfall (1 mm·min⁻¹) were used. Significant variations in hydrological responses to rainfall rates were identified for the two land uses. On average, overland flow parameters on runoff plots covered with grasses were reduced to maximum 28% for discharges and to 50% for volumes while in the case of simulated rainfalls, the runoff rates were significantly increased on the bare soil plot. Grasses have a very important function as they cover and protect the soil and slow down the overland flow.