Water holdup capacity and residence time of red spruce and balsam fir branches

Abstract

This study examined the throughfall dynamics of high-elevation red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] branches. A site was established at an elevation of 1160 m on Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, USA, and branches were collected from the canopies of mature trees. Throughfall water dynamics of branches collected in September 1988 and March 1989 were determined using a fluorescent tracer in an artificial precipitation apparatus. Water holdup capacities of spruce and fir branches from different canopy positions were similar. Spruce retained more water per unit area than fir. For rain, a three-compartment model that was used to analyze water dynamics showed that the bulk of water initially on the branch experienced very slow turnover, while intercepted water left the branch quickly. There did not appear to be any difference in throughfall dynamics between spruce and fir. Our results suggest that the initial composition of rain and mobilized dry deposition will influence the composition of water in contact with the branch for a relatively long time, as branch water composition will respond slowly to changes in precipitation composition. These predictions require field testing where sequential sampling of throughfall and precipitation occurs on a time scale equivalent to 0.1–0.2 mm of precipitation.