Rainfall partitioning characteristics of three typical sand-fixing shrubs in Horqin Sand Land, north-eastern China

Rainfall partitioning by vegetation affects water balance and utilization by plants. Caragana microphylla , Hedysarum fruticosum , and Salix gordejevii are three typical, morphologically different sand-fixing shrubs in Horqin Sand Land. However, few studies have compared rainfall partitioning by these shrubs. We examined rainfall partitioning differences among these shrubs in Horqin Sand Land, north-eastern China. On average, throughfall, stemflow (SF), and interception for C. microphylla accounted for 64.2, 11.0, and 24.8% of the individual incident rainfall, respectively; for H. fruticosum , they accounted for 71.2, 6.3, and 22.5%; and for S. gordejevii , they accounted for 75.3, 5.3, and 19.4%. The average funneling ratio for H. fruticosum (162.7 ± 33.2) was larger than that for C. microphylla (100.1 ± 16.9) and S. gordejevii (106.2 ± 23.1). Rainfall partitioning was significantly correlated with canopy area, branch number, and stem basal area for C. microphylla and S. gordejevii . SF volumes of 3,167, 676, and 2,210 L were estimated to have channeled into the plots for C. microphylla , H. fruticosum and S. gordejevii , respectively, indicating that C. microphylla is more effective in channeling SF to the root zone. These results suggest that C. microphylla may be more advantageous for sand-fixing and vegetation restoration in sand lands.