Precipitation from Fog Moisture in the Green Mountains of Vermont

Vogelmann, H. W.; Siccama, Thomas G.; Leedy, Dwight; Ovitt, Dwight C.

doi:10.2307/1934518

Cited by 71 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Past investigations have shown that water input and/or soil moisture is measurably higher around tree canopies or in forest stands where the fog is``stripped'' from the air mass (Kittredge 1948;Oberlander 1956;Parsons 1960;Vogelmann et al 1968;Azevedo and Morgan 1974;Harr 1982;Ingwersen 1985;Schemenauer et al 1988;Dawson 1996) and that when large-canopy trees, such as Douglas ®r (Pseudotsuga menziesii), are lost or removed from the watershed both the water input from fog drip and the stream¯ow decline signi®cantly (Ingwersen 1985). Went (1955) even suggested that some plant leaf shapes may have evolved to facilitate the interception or collection of fog.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fog in the California redwood forest: ecosystem inputs and use by plants

Dawson¹

1998

Oecologia

531

502

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fog has been viewed as an important source of moisture in many coastal ecosystems, yet its importance for the plants which inhabit these ecosystems is virtually unknown. Here, I report the results of a 3-year investigation of fog inputs and the use of fog water by plants inhabiting the heavily fog inundated coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests of northern California. During the study period, 34%, on average, of the annual hydrologic input was from fog drip off the redwood trees themselves (interception input). When trees were absent, the average annual input from fog was only 17%, demonstrating that the trees significantly influence the magnitude of fog water input to the ecosystem. Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses of water from fog, rain, soil water, and xylem water extracted from the dominant plant species were used to characterize the water sources used by the plants. An isotopic mixing model was employed to then quantify how much fog water each plant used each month during the 3-year study. In summer, when fog was most frequent, ∼19% of the water within S.sempervirens, and ∼66% of the water within the understory plants came from fog after it had dripped from tree foliage into the soil; for S.sempervirens, this fog water input comprised 13-45% of its annual transpiration. For all plants, there was a significant reliance on fog as a water source, especially in summer when rainfall was absent. Dependence on fog as a moisture source was highest in the year when rainfall was lowest but fog inputs normal. Interestingly, during the mild El Niño year of 1993, when the ratio of rainfall to fog water input was significantly higher and fog inputs were lower, both the proportion and coefficient of variation in how much fog water was used by plants increased. An explanation for this is that while fog inputs were lower than normal in this El Niño year, they came at a time when plant demand for water was highest (summer). Therefore, proportional use of fog water by plants increased. The results presented suggest that fog, as a meteorological factor, plays an important role in the water relations of the plants and in the hydrology of the forest. These results demonstrate the importance of understanding the impacts of climatic factors and their oscillations on the biota. The results have important implications for ecologists, hydrologists, and forest managers interested in fog-inundated ecosystems and the plants which inhabit them.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fog in the California redwood forest: ecosystem inputs and use by plants

Dawson¹

1998

Oecologia

531

502

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fog precipitation occurs in any environment where wind and fog persists for a long enough period for cloud droplets to coalesce on vegetation surfaces. The environments that are especially likely to have fog precipitation are high elevation regions where cool temperatures result in the condensation of water vapour (Vogelmann et al, 1968;LaBastille and Pool, 1978) and coastal regions on the western side of continents where cool air off the oceans condenses and moves inland (Miller, 1957;Cereceda and Schemenauer, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fog precipitation in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala

Holder

2003

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Fog precipitation occurs when fog droplets are filtered by the forest canopy and coalesce on the vegetative surfaces to form larger water droplets that drip to the forest floor. This study examines the quantity of throughfall compared with incident precipitation produced by the canopy of a lower montane rain forest (2100 m) and an upper montane cloud forest (2550 m) in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. Fog precipitation was measured with throughfall and precipitation gauges from 23 July 1995 to 7 June 1996. Fog precipitation occurred during sampling periods when throughfall exceeded incident precipitation. Fog precipitation contributed <1% of total water inputs in the cloud forest at 2100 m during the 44-week period, whereas fog precipitation contributed 7Ð4% at 2550 m during the same period. The depth equivalent of fog precipitation was greater at 2550 m (203Ð4 mm) than at 2100 m (23Ð4 mm). The calculation of fog precipitation in this study is underestimated. The degree of underestimation may be evident in the difference in apparent rainfall interception between 2100 m (35%) and 2550 m (4%). Because the apparent interception rate at 2550 m is significantly lower than 2100 m, the canopy probably is saturated for longer periods as a result of cloud water contributions. Data show a seasonal pattern of fog precipitation most evident at the 2550 m site. Fog precipitation represented a larger proportion of total water inputs during the dry season (November to May). Because cloud forests generate greater than 1 mm day 1 of fog precipitation in higher elevations of the Sierra de las Minas, the conservation of the cloud forest may be important to meet the water demands of a growing population in the surrounding arid lowlands.

show abstract

“…Interception of fog in eastern spruce-fir forests (Vogelmann et al 1968) and dew collection by ragweed through stem flow (Shure & Lewis 1973) are other examples of moisture deposition that may influence plant ecology. Excess leaf wetness also may promote pathogen infection of native and agricultural species (Tubaki, Tokumasu, & Ando 1985;Reynolds et al 1989;Evans, Nyquist, & Latin 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of leaf surface wetness for montane and subalpine plants

Brewer

Smith

1997

Plant Cell & Environment

169

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The frequency and duration of water on leaf surfaces have important consequences for plant growth and photosynthetic gas exchange. The objective of the present study was to compare the frequency and duration of leaf wetness under natural field conditions among species and to identify variation in structural features of leaves that may reduce surface wetness. During June-Septemher 1992 in the central Rocky Mountains (USA), natural leaf wetting due to rain and dewfall was observed on 79 of 89 nights in open meadow habitats compared to only 29 of 89 nights in the understorey. Dew formation occurred at relative humidities that were often well below 100% because of radiational heat exchange with cold night skies and low wind speeds (< 0-5 m s~*). A survey of 50 subalpine/montane species showed that structural characteristics associated with the occurrence and duration of leaf surface wetness differed among species and habitats. Both adaxial and abaxial surfaces accumulated moisture during rain and dewfall events. Leaf surfaces of open-meadow species were less wettable {P = 0-008), and had lower droplet retention (F = 0-015) and more stomata {P = 0-017) than adjacent understorey species. Also, leaf trichomes reduced the area of leaf surface covered by moisture. Ecophysiological importance is suggested by the high frequency of leaf wetting events in open microsites, influences on growth and gas exchange, and correspondence between leaf surface wettability and habitat.

show abstract

Precipitation from Fog Moisture in the Green Mountains of Vermont

Cited by 71 publications

References 4 publications

Fog in the California redwood forest: ecosystem inputs and use by plants

Fog in the California redwood forest: ecosystem inputs and use by plants

Fog precipitation in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala

Patterns of leaf surface wetness for montane and subalpine plants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About