Abstract
ABSTRACT We aimed to evaluate the net precipitation and rainfall interception in a fragment of semideciduous forest at both early and advanced stages of regeneration in Viçosa city, Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, from January 2012 through July 2013. Six plots were stablished, three in each regeneration stage area. For throughfall and stemflow quantification, 25 rain gauges and collectors were installed in trees having circumference higher than 15 cm, in each plot. An additional rain gauge was installed in an open area to quantify gross precipitation. Gross precipitation in the studied period was 1934 mm. On average, 79.3% and 72.6% of gross precipitation reached the soil via net precipitation in the areas at early and advanced regeneration stages, respectively. Rainfall interception by the forest canopy was higher in the advanced-regeneration area, corresponding to 25.8% of gross precipitation. In the early- regeneration area, on the other hand, rainfall interception accounted for 20.2% of gross precipitation. This suggests that more densely populated areas intercept more rainfall, and consequently have lower net precipitation. Thus, our study shows that rainwater distribution in forest environments changes according to their regeneration status. The replacement of species at different successional stages renders the water to follow different pathways, such as interception, stemflow, and throughfall. This information helps us understand that the succession process can be slow, yet it is the natural way of forest regeneration.
Highlights
The hydrologic cycle is defined as the movement of water and the changes in its state during such movement
The study was conducted in a seasonal semideciduous forest fragment located within the Estação de Pesquisas, Treinamento e Educação Ambiental Mata do Paraíso (Figure 1), a conservation unit situated in Viçosa municipality, eastern Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil
The values recorded for this parameter were 8.62 mm in the early-regeneration area and 29.42 mm in the advancedregeneration one (TABLE 2), corresponding to 0.44%
Summary
The hydrologic cycle is defined as the movement of water and the changes in its state during such movement. The volume of water in each stage of the hydrologic cycle is relatively constant. The rainfall that precipitates in a forest may follow two pathways: it may either return to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration (concomitant loss of soil water through evaporation and of plant water through transpiration) or reach the soil through the litter or trees stems. The other part is temporarily stored through soil infiltration and may be released to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration, be kept as soil water for a while longer, or get filtrated as underground water. The soil-stored water that was not evapotranspirated flows slowly through the forest and originates runoff, which sustains water sources (FREITAS et al, 2013)
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