RESUMO Períodos de seca prolongados têm impactado as florestas Atlânticas no sudeste do Brasil, demandando investigações para entender os efeitos destas condições estressantes em sua hidrologia. Este estudo objetivou avaliar as mudanças no balanço hídrico de um remanescente de floresta Atlântica semi-decidual e como ela responde à secas. O Índice Padronizado Precipitação-Evapotranspiração (SPEI) foi aplicado para identificar os períodos de seca (de 1961 a 2019) e suas severidades nas escalas de ano hidrológico e verão. Os impactos das secas na evapotranspiração real, na percolação potencial e no armazenamento de água no solo foram analisados por meio do Hydrus-1D, considerando a precipitação efetiva e a evapotranspiração potencial como entradas. As análises de erro (<10%) confirmaram a adequabilidade do Hydrus-1D na simulação da umidade do solo. Incertezas com relação à condutividade hidráulica saturada estão relacionadas à presença de caminhos preferenciais, os quais não são considerados na equação de Richards. A intensificação das secas acarretaram mudanças na hidrologia florestal, ativando respostas fisiológicas. Florestas Atlânticas semi-deciduais são adaptadas a períodos secos devido à suas espécies adaptadas e à ativação de mecanismos fisiológicos. No entanto, a floresta respondeu de maneira diferente considerando as escalas de seca. A intensificação das secas no verão aumentou a evapotranspiração e diminuiu a percolação potencial. A perda de folhas alterou a estrutura do dossel em um intervalo de dois anos em resposta à intensificação da seca no ano hidrológico. Alterações na hidrologia florestal ativam respostas fisiológicas (como a perda de folhas) em um processo atrasado após episódios de seca.

ABSTRACT Since prolonged droughts have impacted Atlantic forests in Southeastern Brazil, further investigations to understand the effects of such stressful conditions in their hydrological behavior are required. This study aimed to assess the changes in the water balance of a semi-deciduous Atlantic forest remnant and how the forest responds to droughts. The Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index was applied to identify droughts (from 1961 to 2019) and their severity in both the hydrological year and summer scales. Drought impacts on actual evapotranspiration, potential percolation, and soil water storage were assessed using Hydrus-1D, having net precipitation and potential evapotranspiration as inputs. Error analyses (< 10%) confirmed Hydrus-1D suitability for simulating soil moisture. Uncertainties regarding the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity are due to preferential flows, which are not accounted for in Richards’ equation. Drought intensification changed forest hydrology and triggered physiological responses to deal with it. Semi-deciduous Atlantic forests are adapted to dry conditions because of the existence of dry-affiliated species and the activation of physiological mechanisms. However, such adaptations responded differently regarding the drought scales. The intensification of summer droughts increased evapotranspiration and decreased the potential percolation. Leaf shedding changed the canopy structure in a two-year time lag as a response to the intensification of hydrological year droughts. Changes in forest hydrology are sudden and trigger physiological responses, such as leaf shedding, in a delayed process after droughts take place.

ABSTRACT. This study was carried out in an Atlantic forest remnant in Southeastern Brazil and aimed to spatially model the soil water content (SWC) and net precipitation (NP) on a monthly time scale and to assess the spatial behavior of these hydrological variables in the different seasons. NP is defined by summing throughfall and stemflow, which have been collected after each rain event and accumulated monthly. Soil moisture measurements were carried out monthly up to a depth of 1.00 m and then integrated to obtain the SWC. The exponential semivariogram model was fitted for both hydrological variables, and the goodness-of-fit was assessed by a cross-validation procedure, spatial dependence degree (SDD) and spatial dependence index (SDI). This model provided adequate performance for SWC and NP mapping according to the cross-validation statistics. Based on the SDD, both variables have been classified as a ‘strong spatial dependence structure’. Nevertheless, when the SDI was assessed, NP showed less spatial dependence, while the SWC maintained almost the same performance. Kriging maps pictured the regional climate seasonality due to higher values of both variables in spring and summer than in autumn and winter seasons. However, correlations between NP and SWC are not expressive in the studied period.

ABSTRACT The rainfall-forest canopy interaction can impact on the chemical and physical rain-water features and is expected that different forests will have different effects on throughfall rain-water quality parameters. This study aimed (i) to compare chemical and physical rain-water quality variables observed in both gross precipitation and throughfall measured in two different forest stands (Atlantic semideciduous forest remnant - AFR, and a Eucalyptus urograndis plantation - EUP). Each stand was monitored with 8 internal rain-gauges and one external rain-gauge, encompassing the period from March 2015 to March 2016. The results pointed out a seasonal behavior of chemical and physical rain-water variables. Gross precipitation and throughfall presented different behaviors for pH, NH3, NH4+ and Ca hardness for AFR, and NH3, NH4 +, Phosphate, Chloride, Ca hardness, Total Dissolved Solids and Conductivity for EUP. Besides, significant differences between the stands were found in terms of throughfall indicators for some of the rainfall events, remarkably NH3 and NH4 + which were always higher at AFR. Our findings reinforce that trees and forests promote rain water enrichment with nutrients, performing key role on environmental services such as nutrient water and air pollution mitigation.