Vegetation canopy effects on total and dissolved Cl, Br, F and I concentrations in soil and their fate along the hydrological flow path.

Although halogens are omnipresent in the environment, detailed understanding of processes involving chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), fluorine (F) and iodine (I) in the terrestrial halogen cycle is still sparse. Our objectives were to (i) assess vertical depth profiles of total and water-extractable inorganic halogen concentrations (Cl, Br, F, I) in solid soil, (ii) test the effect of a tree canopy, and (iii) follow the fate of dissolved inorganic halogens along the hydrological flow path. More than 200 soil samples and ecosystem solutions (rainwater, soil solution, adit and creek water) collected in the Schwarzwald, SW Germany, were analyzed by combustion ion chromatography and ion chromatography for total and inorganic halogen concentrations.