Relationship between annual rainfall and interception ratio for forests across Japan

Abstract

Several previous studies in Japan have examined differences in rainfall interception amounts induced by differences in forest properties by comparing the annual rainfall interception ratios (annual rainfall interception divided by annual rainfall) from various sites without considering variations in meteorological conditions between sites. Rainfall interception actually depends on meteorological conditions as well as forest properties. This study examined variations in the annual interception ratio relating to the variation in annual rainfall, which would be the primary factor relating to the interception ratio, across Japan with the use of a rainfall interception model assuming the same forest properties (i.e., the canopy storage capacity, canopy closure, leaf area index (LAI), and the bulk coefficient for sensible heat transfer). The ratio ranged between 0.12 and 0.24 across Japan and was highly correlated to annual rainfall. This indicates that considering the variation in annual rainfall is critical for assessing the difference in rainfall interception amounts induced by forest properties. We reconsidered the results of previous studies in Japan that compared annual interception ratios between sites with different forest properties: (i) there is no clear difference in interception amounts between broadleaf and coniferous forests and (ii) there is a positive correlation in stem density and interception amounts for coniferous forests. These results still held when considering differences in annual rainfall between sites.