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Rainfall interception by tree crown and leaf litter: An interactive process
Author(s) -
Li Xiang,
Xiao Qingfu,
Niu Jianzhi,
Dymond Salli,
McPherson E. Gregory,
Doorn Natalie,
Yu Xinxiao,
Xie Baoyuan,
Zhang Kebin,
Li Jiao
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.11275
Subject(s) - interception , crown (dentistry) , litter , plant litter , platycladus , zoology , canopy interception , environmental science , botany , hydrology (agriculture) , canopy , biology , ecosystem , agronomy , throughfall , ecology , geology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , composite material
Rainfall interception research in forest ecosystems usually focuses on interception by either tree crown or leaf litter, although the 2 components interact when rainfall occurs. A process‐based study was conducted to jointly measure rainfall interception by crown and litter and the interaction between the 2 interception processes for 4 tree species ( Platycladus orientalis and Pinus tabulaeformis represented needle‐leaf species, and Quercus variabilis and Acer truncatum represented broadleaf species) at 3 simulated rainfall intensities (10, 50, and 100 mm hr −1 ). Results indicated that (a) crown and litter interception processes incorporated 3 phases: the dampening phase, the steady saturation phase, and the postrainfall drainage phase, but the dampening phase for litter interception usually lasted 30 min longer than for crown interception; (b) the maximum and minimum interception storage ( C max and C min ) for the crown were 0.63 and 0.36 mm on average, and litter C max and C min were 5.38 and 2.36 mm, respectively; (c) generally, crown and litter C max and C min increased when gross precipitation increased significantly ( p < .05) from 10 to 100 mm; and (4) crown C max and C min for needle‐species were 1.8 and 1.2 times larger than broadleaf species, whereas broadleaf litter showed the opposite, its C max and C min were 2.0 and 1.6 times larger than needle‐leaf litter on average; however, no significant differences were observed in crown and litter C max and C min between species on per leaf area and litter thickness basis. Results were normalized by total leaf area and litter thickness to provide a way to scale up from young trees to mature forests. Overall, rainfall interception was affected by biotic and abiotic factors together and could be quantified via multiple linear regression functions.