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The cation composition of precipitation at four sites in far north Queensland
Author(s) -
BRASELL H. M.,
GILMOUR D. A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1980.tb01263.x
Subject(s) - transect , magnesium , potassium , precipitation , sodium , calcium , coral , dry season , phosphorus , composition (language) , environmental science , environmental chemistry , chemistry , zoology , ecology , biology , geography , organic chemistry , meteorology , linguistics , philosophy
Bulk precipitation samples were collected over four years at four sites on a transect from the Coral Sea to the Atherton Tableland in far north Queensland and analysed for sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. The concentration of the cations in the rainfall was significantly higher during the dry season than during the wet season. There were marked differences between the coastal sites and the Tableland sites in both concentration and accession of cations in the precipitation. Mean annual accession for sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium ranged from 159, 8.1, 17.1 and 19.4 kg/ha respectively at the coastal sites to 11, 4.5, 2.7 and 2.4 kg/ha respectively at the Tableland sites. The high levels of cation accession at the two coastal sites was attributed to the very high annual rainfalls. There were no differences in ionic ratios between seasons except for the most inland site. However, there were significant differences in ionic ratios between coastal and inland sites. except for Na: Mg, with increasing proportions of calcium and potassium and decreasing proportions of sodium and magnesium away from the coast.