TY - JOUR A1 - Zimmermann, Alexander A1 - Germer, Sonja A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Spatio-temporal patterns of throughfall and solute deposition in an open tropical rain forest Y1 - 2008 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00221694 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.07.028 SN - 0022-1694 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Germer, Sonja A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Neto, Sergio Gouveia A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Seasonal and within-event dynamics of rainfall and throughfall chemistry in an open tropical rainforest in Rondônia, Brazil N2 - Prolonged dry periods, and increasingly the generation of smoke and dust in partially-deforested regions, can influence the chemistry of rainfall and throughfall in moist tropical forests. We investigated rainfall and throughfall chemistry in a palm-rich open tropical rainforest in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon state of Rondonia, where precipitation averages 2300 mm year(-1) with a marked seasonal pattern, and where the fragmentation of remaining forest is severe. Covering the transition from dry to wet season (TDWS) and the wet season (WS) of 2004-2005, we sampled 42 rainfall events on event basis as well as 35 events on a within-event basis, and measured concentrations of DOC, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+ , Cl-, SO42- , NO3- and pH in rainfall and throughfall. We found strong evidence of both seasonal and within-event solute rainfall concentration dynamics. Seasonal volume-weighted mean (VWMS) concentrations in rainfall of DOC, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+ , SO42- and NO3- were significantly higher in the TDWS than the WS, while VWMS concentrations in throughfall were significantly higher for all solutes except DOC. Patterns were generally similar within rain events, with solute concentrations declining sharply during the first few millimeters of rainfall. Rainfall and throughfall chemistry dynamics appeared to be strongly influenced by forest and pasture burning and a regional atmosphere rich in aerosols at the end of the dry season. These seasonal and within-event patterns of rainfall and throughfall chemistry were stronger than those recorded in central Amazonia, where the dry season is less pronounced and where regional deforestation is less severe. Fragmentation and fire in Rondonia now appear to be altering the patterns in which solutes are delivered to remaining moist tropical forests. Y1 - 2007 UR - http://www.springerlink.com/content/100244 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-007-9152-9 SN - 0168-2563 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Chaves, Joaquín E. A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Germer, Sonja A1 - Neto, Sergio Gouveia A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Bonilla, Adriana Castellanos A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Nitrogen transformations in flowpaths leading from soils to streams in Amazon forest and pasture Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.springerlink.com/content/101552 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-009-9270-4 SN - 1432-9840 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chaves, Joaquín E. A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Germer, Sonja A1 - Neto, Sérgio Gouveia A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Land management impacts on runoff sources in small amazon watersheds Y1 - 2008 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/4125/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6803 SN - 0885-6087 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Germer, Sonja A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Influence of land-use change on near-surface hydrological processes : undisturbed forest to pasture N2 - Soil compaction that follows the clearing of tropical forest for cattle pasture is associated with lower soil hydraulic conductivity and increased frequency and volume of overland flow. We investigated the frequency of perched water tables, overland flow and stormflow in an Amazon forest and in an adjacent 25-year-old pasture cleared from the same forest. We compared the results with the frequencies of these phenomena estimated from comparisons of rainfall intensity and soil hydraulic conductivity. The frequency of perched water tables based on rainfall intensity and soil hydraulic conductivity was expected to double in pasture compared with forest. This corresponded closely with an approximate doubling of the frequency of stormflow and overland flow in pasture. In contrast, the stormflow volume in pasture increased 17-fold. This disproportional increase of stormflow resulted from overland flow generation over large areas of pasture, while overland flow generation in the forest was spatially limited and was observed only very near the stream channel. In both catchments, stormflow was generated by saturation excess because of perched water tables and near-surface groundwater levels. Stormflow was occasionally generated in the forest by rapid return flow from macropores, while slow return flow from a continuous perched water table was more common in the pasture. These results suggest that deforestation for pasture alters fundamental mechanisms of stormflow generation and may increase runoff volumes over wide regions of Amazonia. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00221694 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.11.022 SN - 0022-1694 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Germer, Sonja A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Vetter, Tobias A1 - Chaves, Joaquín E. A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Implications of long-term land-use change for the hydrology and solute budgets of small catchments in Amazonia N2 - The replacement of undisturbed tropical forest with cattle pasture has the potential to greatly modify the hydrology of small watersheds and the fluxes of solutes. We examined the fluxes of water, Cl-, NO3--N: SO42---S, NH4+-N, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ in different flow paths in similar to 1 ha catchments of undisturbed open tropical rainforest and a 20 year-old pasture established from forest in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon state of Rondonia. Storm flow discharge was 18% of incident rainfall in pasture, but only 1% in forest. Quickflow predominated over baseflow in both catchments and in both wet and dry seasons. In the pasture, groundwater and quickflow were important flow paths for the export of all solutes. In the forest, quickflow was important for NO3--N export, but all other solutes were exported primarily by groundwater outflow. Both catchments were sinks for SO42--S and Ca2+, and sources of Na+. The pasture catchment also lost K+ and Mg2+ because of higher overland flow frequency and volume and to cattle excrement. These results show that forest clearing dramatically influences small watershed hydrology by increasing quickflow and water export to streams. They also indicate that tropical forest watersheds are highly conservative for most solutes but that pastures continue to lose important cations even decades after deforestation and pasture establishment. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00221694 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.11.013 SN - 0022-1694 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neill, Christopher A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut A1 - Krusche, Alex V. A1 - Lehmann, Johannes A1 - Markewitz, Daniel A1 - Figueiredo, Ricardo de O. T1 - Hydrological and biogeochemical processes in a changing Amazon : results from small watershed studies and the large-scale biosphere-atmosphere experiment N2 - The Amazon Basin is the world's largest tropical forest region and one where rapid human changes to land cover have the potential to cause significant changes to hydrological and biogeochemical processes. The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) is a multidisciplinary, multinational research program led by Brazil. The goal of LBA is to understand how the Amazon Basin functions as a regional entity in the earth system and how these functions are changing as a result of ongoing human activity. This compilation of nine papers focuses on a central LBA question in the area of nutrient dynamics and surface water chemistry-how do changes in land use alter fluxes of dissolved and particulate materials from uplands across riparian zones and down the channels of river corridors? These papers cover work conducted in small watersheds on a wide range of topics within the spirit and geographical focus area of LBA: water balance and runoff generation, nutrient transformations in riparian zones and stream channels, carbon fluxes in water moving from land to water and the influence of soils on flowpath structure and stream chemistry. Important new insights can be gained from these and other studies. Forest clearing for pastures results in a decrease in soil hydraulic conductivity that forces water into surficial flowpaths throughout most of the rainy season across wide regions of the Amazon. Riparian zones along small forest streams appear to be very effective in removing nitrate arriving from the uplands, while forest streams take up nitrate at very low rates, allowing them to travel downstream for long distances. Although substantial, the contribution of dissolved organic C (DOC) to the carbon flux from forests to streams appears to be lower than the flux of dissolved inorganic C that is subsequently outgassed as CO2. Remaining key challenges within LBA will be to synthesize existing data sets on river networks, soils, climate, land use and planned infrastructure for the Amazon to develop models capable of predicting hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes at a variety of scales relevant to the development of strategies for sustainable management of the Amazon's remarkable forest, soil and freshwater resources. Y1 - 2006 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/4125/home U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/Hyp.6210 ER -