Abstract
The mixed forest of broad-leaved and Korean pine is the dominant type in the Xiaoxing’an and Changbai Mountains of China. However, few studies have been done on its canopy interception of rainfall. In this study, rainfall amount, rainfall intensity, and canopy interception were monitored during the growing seasons in 2010 and 2011. The results showed that cumulative canopy interception of rainfall was 22.0% and 21.9% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. However, the canopy interception of rainfall varied with rainfall events from 6.6% to 82.7% in 2010, and from 8.7% to 80.2% in 2011. The relationship between rainfall amount and the ratio of canopy interception to rainfall amount could be described by a power function (P < 0.01), i.e., the canopy interception decreased with the increasing rainfall amount and intensity. These results indicate that the rainfall amount and intensity were important factors for estimating the canopy interception of the studied forest type.
Highlights
Forest canopy interception of rainfall plays an important role in the hydrological cycle and water resource management of forest ecosystems [1]
These results indicate that the rainfall amount and intensity were important factors for estimating the canopy interception of the studied forest type
Our study advances the understanding of interception processes in mixed broad-leaved—Korean pine forests and provides much needed data for the Xiaoxing’an Mountains
Summary
Forest canopy interception of rainfall plays an important role in the hydrological cycle and water resource management of forest ecosystems [1]. To identify the differences of canopy interception among different forest types, a number of studies have been finished in various regions [2–5]. The majority of rainfall interception studies have been conducted in forest ecosystems located in arid to tropical climates [6], with reported annual interception losses ranging from 10 to 50% of total precipitation [7]. The ratio of canopy interception to rainfall amount for the major types of Chinese forest ranges from 14.7 to 31.8% [3]. The process of rainfall interception is normally dependent on the rainfall characteristics (e.g., rainfall amount, intensity, duration, drop size, and the number of raindrops), micrometeorological conditions, forest features such as tree species, the canopy structure (e.g., leaf area index (LAI), stem surface area, and crown gap fraction), and the antecedent weather [8]. Some researchers reported that the rainfall amount was the most influential variable of forest canopy interception loss, followed by rainfall intensity [13].
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