Interception of Rainfall in Successional Tropical Dry Forests in Brazil and Costa Rica

Julio Calvo-Alvarado,César Jiménez-Rodríguez,Thiago Gonçalves-Silva,Mário Marcos Do Espírito-Santo,Ana Calvo-Obando

doi:10.3390/geosciences8120486

Julio Calvo-Alvarado, César Jiménez-Rodríguez + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8120486

Copy DOI

Abstract

Tropical dry forests (TDF) are endangered ecosystems characterized by a matrix of successional forest patches with structural differences across the Neotropics. Until now, there have been few studies that analyze the partitioning of rainfall by forest interception in TDF. To contribute to the understanding of the TDF impact on the hydrological dynamic at the ecosystem and landscape levels, a rainfall interception study was conducted in Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica (SRNP) and in Mata Seca State Park in Brazil (MSSP). In each site, three plots per successional stage were studied. The successional stages were early, intermediate, and late. In each plot the rainfall, throughfall, and stemflow were monitored during one rainy season. The relationship between gross rainfall and water fluxes was evaluated using linear regression models. In general, net rainfall oscillated from 79.3% to 85.4% of gross rainfall in all the plots in MSSP without any trend related to forest succession, due to the effect of a high density of lianas in the intermediate and late stage plots. In SRNP, there was a clear trend of net rainfall among successional stages: 87.5% (early), 73.0% (intermediate), and 63.4% (late). Net rainfall correlated negatively only with plant area index in SRNP (r = −0.755, p < 0.05). This study highlights the need to study rainfall interception in successional stages to estimate net rainfall that reaches the soil. This would provide better hydrological information to understand water balance and water fluxes at the level of forest ecosystems and landscapes.

Highlights

According to the Holdridge life zone system [1], tropical dry forests (TDF) have a bio-temperature greater than 17 ◦ C, an annual rainfall of 500–2000 mm yr−1 and a dry season that lasts 4–6 months.Last forest cover assessments concluded that the total potential extent of TDF in the Americas was1,520,659 km2, but there was only 519,597 km2 (34%) in 2010
The selected experimental plots were located in Brazil and Costa Rica; both sites are TDF and experience a strong seasonality with an extended dry period, which can last up to six months
The Brazilian site is located within the Mata Seca State Park (MSSP) in Minas Gerais (14◦ 560 5900 S and 44◦ 040 1200 W) at an elevation of 452 masl The Costa Rican site is within the Santa Rosa National Park (SRNP) in Guanacaste (10o530 1.000 N, 85o460 3000 W) at 597 masl (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

According to the Holdridge life zone system [1], tropical dry forests (TDF) have a bio-temperature greater than 17 ◦ C, an annual rainfall of 500–2000 mm yr−1 and a dry season that lasts 4–6 months.Last forest cover assessments concluded that the total potential extent of TDF in the Americas was1,520,659 km , but there was only 519,597 km (34%) in 2010. According to the Holdridge life zone system [1], tropical dry forests (TDF) have a bio-temperature greater than 17 ◦ C, an annual rainfall of 500–2000 mm yr−1 and a dry season that lasts 4–6 months. Last forest cover assessments concluded that the total potential extent of TDF in the Americas was. Only 4.5% (23,417 km2 ) of the total TDF currently in the Americas is under protection by conservation areas. Remnants of TDF that are not protected are highly fragmented across the continent and are under high anthropogenic pressures. Most TDF cannot longer be considered pristine old-growth forests, but rather as a mosaic of successional stages. On the positive side, during recent decades, several studies have shown that TDF are recovering in some areas through natural restoration [2,3]

Objectives

Methods

Results