The end of an entire biome? World's largest wetland, the Pantanal, is menaced by the Hidrovia project which is uncertain to sustainably support large-scale navigation.

The resurgent navigation project known as the Hidrovia Paraguay-Paraná threatens the integrity of the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, which is considered a biome of its own. Intensive barge navigation is intended to transport crops (soybean, sugar, corn) and cement, iron and manganese from areas of production in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia to the oceanic ports of the Plata River. This short communication assembles the information available on the potential impacts of the planned deepening of the natural channel of the Paraguay River in its ~700 km-long upper section.

Radiative forcing of methane fluxes offsets net carbon dioxide uptake for a tropical flooded forest.

Wetlands are important sources of methane (CH ) and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO ). However, little is known about CH and CO fluxes and dynamics of seasonally flooded tropical forests of South America in relation to local carbon (C) balances and atmospheric exchange. We measured net ecosystem fluxes of CH and CO in the Pantanal over 2014-2017 using tower-based eddy covariance along with C measurements in soil, biomass and water.

Impacts of land-use and land-cover change on stream hydrochemistry in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes.

Studies on the impacts of land-use and land-cover change on stream hydrochemistry in active deforestation zones of the Amazon agricultural frontier are limited and have often used low-temporal-resolution datasets. Moreover, these impacts are not concurrently assessed in well-established agricultural areas and new deforestations hotspots. We aimed to identify these impacts using an experimental setup to collect high-temporal-resolution hydrological and hydrochemical data in two pairs of low-order streams in catchments under contrasting land use and land cover (native vegetation vs.

Biochar feedstock and pyrolysis temperature effects on leachate: DOC characteristics and nitrate losses from a Brazilian Cerrado Arenosol mixed with agricultural waste biochars.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from Brazilian Cerrado Arenosols can lead to carbon (C) losses and lower soil fertility, while excessive nutrient, e.g. nitrate (NO), leaching can potentially cause water contamination.

Origin of mounds in the Pantanal wetlands: An integrated approach between geomorphology, pedogenesis, ecology and soil micromorphology.

Vegetated mounds are an important geomorphological feature of the Pantanal, where the influence of floods dictates not only hydropedological processes, but also the distribution and ecology of the flora and fauna. This work aimed to identify factors and processes that influence the formation and spatial distribution of the mounds, which are commonly associated with termite activity. In order to characterize pedological processes, macro and micro morphological descriptions, satellite image interpretation, dating of the sandy sedimentary material using OSL and carbon dating using 14C AMS were carried out.

Biochar decreases dissolved organic carbon but not nitrate leaching in relation to vinasse application in a Brazilian sugarcane soil.

Objectives: Sugarcane cultivation is associated with catchment-wide impacts related to application of vinasse, a nutrient-dense effluent with high eutrophication potential. We evaluated the potential for biochar (charcoal produced from pyrolyzed filtercake) to mitigate carbon and nutrient leaching in a cultivated Brazilian Ferralsol after vinasse application.

Methods: Twelve soil columns (soil alone [S], soil with vinasse [SV], soil with vinasse and biochar [SVB], and soil with biochar [SB]) were flushed with water and then treated with water or vinasse.

Soil CO₂ dynamics in a tree island soil of the Pantanal: the role of soil water potential.

The Pantanal is a biodiversity hotspot comprised of a mosaic of landforms that differ in vegetative assemblages and flooding dynamics. Tree islands provide refuge for terrestrial fauna during the flooding period and are particularly important to the regional ecosystem structure. Little soil CO₂ research has been conducted in this region.