Effects of leaf microstructures on the water storage capacity of common urban landscape trees

Abstract

Leaf surface characteristics are the key to determine the water storage capacity of tree canopy and then determine the water interception capacity of the entire stands.We selected 10 common tree species in Qingdao, China, as experimental materials to determine the relationship between the leaf water storage capacity and the microstructure of leaf surfaces. The results revealed that water storage capacity varied from 110.16 to 181.35 gÁm À2 on tree branch surfaces and 122.58 to 193.24 gÁm À2 on leaf surfaces in these species. Prunus serrulata with the highest leaf storage capacity had low wettability and high roughness, while Platanus acerifolia with the lowest leaf storage capacity had high wettability and low roughness. Among them, leaf roughness played an important role in work-of-adhesion for rainfall. With an increasing roughness, the raindrops increasingly adhered to the leaf surface, and leaf water storage capacity increased. Thus, the effects of leaf surface properties on hydrological processes cannot be ignored, and this study is of great significance for demonstrating their impacts on water storage capacity and further promoting sponge city construction by using trees.

Progression toward maximum leaf surface storage during the rainfall interception process

“…The large variability in data was shown in Figure 5 with generally increasing standard errors of the mean leaf inclination angles after the increasing number of drop impacts on the leaf surface. This finding may express the role of accumulated water following each drop impact on the differences in leaf morphology for each leaf sample (Cavallaro et al, 2022; Koch et al, 2008; Ou et al, 2023). As expected, as drop size increased, the variability of leaf inclination angles generally increased.…”

Study on the Comprehensive Health Effects of Coastal Green Areas in Qingdao City, China

“…Qingdao, a coastal tourist destination, is in the southeast of the Shandong Peninsula, surrounded by the sea on three sides and flanked by mountains on the other, offering abundant natural and human-formed landscapes, as well as therapeutic resources (Figure 1). The study area demonstrates typical marine climate features, characterized by an average summer temperature of 24 • C and winter temperatures consistently above 0 • C. These conditions create an environment highly suitable for the implementation of coastal rehabilitation and convalescence activities [20]. Thus, Qingdao boasts numerous sanatoriums and is well-known as a prominent coastal sanatorium in China.…”

“…The study area demonstrates typical marine climate features, characterized by an average summer temperature of 24 °C and winter temperatures consistently above 0 °C. These conditions create an environment highly suitable for the implementation of coastal rehabilitation and convalescence activities [20]. Thus, Qingdao boasts numerous sanatoriums and is well-known as a prominent coastal sanatorium in China.…”