Mercury deposition through litterfall in an Atlantic Forest at Ilha Grande, Southeast Brazil

Atmospheric Hg transfer to the forest soil through litterfall was investigated in a primary rainforest at Ilha Grande (Southeast Brazil) from January to December 1997. Litter mass deposition reached 10.0 t ha−1 y−1, with leaves composing 50–84% of the total litter mass. Concentrations of Hg in the total fallen litter varied from 20 to 244 ng g−1, with higher concentrations during the dry season, between June and August (225 ± 17 ng g−1), and lower concentrations during the rainy season (99 ± 54 ng g−1). This seasonal variability was reflected in the Hg flux through litterfall, which corresponded to a Hg input to the forest floor of 122 μg m−2 y−1, with average Hg deposition of 16.5 ± 1.5 μg m−2 month−1 during and just after the dry season (June–September) and 7.0 ± 3.6 μg m−2 month−1 in the rest of the year. The variability in meteorological conditions (determining atmospheric Hg availability to foliar scavenging) may explain the pulsed pattern of Hg deposition, since litterfall temporal variability was generally unrelated with such deposition, except by a peak in litterfall production in September. Comparisons with regional data on Hg atmospheric deposition show that litterfall promotes Hg deposition at Ilha Grande two to three orders of magnitude higher than open rainfall deposition in non-industrialized areas and approximately two times higher than open rainfall deposition in industrialized areas in Rio de Janeiro State. The observed input suggests that atmospheric Hg transfer through litterfall may explain a larger fraction of the total Hg input to forest soils in Southeast Brazil than those recorded at higher latitudes.