Rainwater chemistry and bulk atmospheric deposition in a tropical semiarid ecosystem: the Brazilian Caatinga

Abstract

We assessed the rainwater chemistry, the potential sources of its main inorganic components and bulk atmospheric deposition in a rural tropical semiarid region in the Brazilian Caatinga. Rainfall samples were collected during two wet seasons, one during an extremely dry year (2012) and one during a year with normal rainfall (2013). According to measurements of the main inorganic ions in the rainwater (H+ , Na+ , NH4 + , K+ , Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl− , NO3 − , and SO4 2− ), no differences were observed in the total ionic charge between the two investigated wet seasons. However, Ca2+, K+ , NH4 + and NO3 − were significant higher in the wetter year (p < 0.05) which was attributed to anthropogenic activities, such as organic fertilizer applications. The total ionic contents of the rainwater suggested a dominant marine contribution, accounting for 76 % and 58 % of the rainwater in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The sum of the non-sea-salt fractions of Cl− , SO4 2− , Mg2+, Ca2+ and K+ were 19 % and 33 % in 2012 and 2013, and the nitrogenous compounds accounted for 2.8 % and 6.0 % of the total ionic contents in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The ionic ratios suggested that Mg2+ was probably the main neutralizing constituent of rainwater acidity, followed by Ca2+. We observed a low bulk atmospheric deposition of all major rainwater ions during both wet seasons. Regarding nitrogen deposition, we estimated slightly lower annual inputs than previous global estimates. Our findings contribute to the understanding of rainfall chemistry in northeastern Brazil by providing baseline information for a previously unstudied tropical semiarid ecosystem