Simulated rainfall in Brazil: An alternative for assesment of soil surface processes and an opportunity for technological development

Abstract

Rainfall simulators (RS) have been used, above all, to evaluate hydrological processes related to soil water infiltration, surface runoff and soil erosion. They allow repeatability of rain application with different precipitation intensities in field and/or laboratory conditions and should produce events with physical characteristics similar to natural rain. In this manuscript, we carried out a bibliometric and scientometric analysis of studies with simulated rainfall in Brazil to assess the temporal evolution of publications, the main topics addressed and the degree of technological development of the equipment. We searched for the terms “rainfall simulator” OR “simulated rainfall” AND “Brazil” in the Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO and Google Scholar databases. We found 143 articles published in the last 37 years (1985–2022). Our findings indicate that the main research areas covered in papers are soil erosion (57.34%), soil water infiltration (24.47%), nutrient losses (9.8%) and RS development and calibration/assessment (8.39%). In recent years, the number of published papers in international high-impact factor journals has increased. Most of the papers (49.65%) refer to studies carried out by institutions located in the south and southeast regions of Brazil. Moreover, there is a large gap of studies on simulated rainfall in other regions of Brazil, where important biomes such as the Cerrado, Amazon, Caatinga, and their transitions are located. This study informs research priorities on soil erosion under simulated rainfall and provides a bibliographic database that can assist in more detailed future analyses.