The Impact of Drought on Soil Moisture Trends across Brazilian Biomes

Abstract. Over the past decade, Brazil has experienced severe droughts across its territory, with important implications for soil moisture dynamics. Soil moisture variability has a direct impact on agriculture, water security, and ecosystem services. Nevertheless, there is currently little information on how soil moisture across different biomes respond to drought. In this study, we used satellite soil moisture data from the European Space Agency, from 2009 to 2015, to analyze differences in soil moisture responses to drought for each biome of Brazil: The Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pampas and Pantanal. We found an overall soil moisture decline of −0.5 %/year (p