Rainfall interception by an isolated evergreen oak tree in a Mediterranean savannah

David, Teresa S.; Gash, J. H. C.; Valente, Fernanda; Pereira, J. S.; Ferreira, Maria Isabel; David, Jorge S.

doi:10.1002/hyp.6062

Cited by 89 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Rainfall interception also differed depending on rainfall amount. Smaller (<10 mm) rainfall events experienced greater interception than larger ones, as observed in other systems (Llorens et al, 1997;David et al, 2006).…”

Section: Rainfall Redistribution Below the Hedgerowmentioning

confidence: 71%

Hedgerow impacts on soil‐water transfer due to rainfall interception and root‐water uptake

Ghazavi

Thomas

Hamon

et al. 2008

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:Hedgerow is one of the most important rural landscapes in the world, especially in Europe. Knowledge about the hydrological role of hedgerows is useful in many fields of study, such as hydrological modelling and rural landscape management. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a hedgerow on rainfall distribution, soil-water potential gradient, lateral water transfer and water balance. A hillslope with a hedgerow perpendicular to the slope was monitored. To evaluate hedgerow rainfall interception, rainfall was measured (hourly, daily, and by rainfall event) both next to and up to 16 m upslope and 12 m downslope perpendicularly away from the hedgerow. The strongest correlation between rainfall next to the hedgerow and rainfall at more distant points was obtained using data measured per rainfall event. The average percentage of rainfall intercepted equalled 28% for the leafed period and 12% for the leafless period. The impact of the hedgerow on spatial rainfall distribution was related to distance from the hedgerow and rainfall amount. Annual distribution of soil-water potential showed that the hedgerow influenced it up to 9 m upslope and 6 m downslope, the area in which most of the hedgerow's roots were observed. The soil was driest at the end of summer, which delayed soil rewetting during autumn in areas surrounding the hedgerow. Annual groundwater dynamics exhibited three distinct periods due to temporal rainfall distribution and, especially at the end of summer, root-water uptake. In addition, the total potential gradient showed that unsaturated flow was directed towards the hedgerow in summer and autumn. These results indicate that at the local scale hedgerows influences (1) spatial rainfall distribution, (2) soil rewetting, and (3) groundwater recharge, often at distances well beyond the hedgerow's drip line. Consequently, the processes involved in soil-water dynamics around hedgerows should be integrated into relevant hydrological models, especially for catchments with a dense hedgerow network.

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Section: Rainfall Redistribution Below the Hedgerowmentioning

confidence: 71%

Hedgerow impacts on soil‐water transfer due to rainfall interception and root‐water uptake

Ghazavi

Thomas

Hamon

et al. 2008

Hydrological Processes

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“…Considering the projected shading by crown cover of the tree layer (minimum of 30 % at noon, increasing during the rest of the day; Piayda et al, 2015), the infiltration enhancement has potentially large benefits for the ecosystem level. A previous study of David et al (2006) under comparable climatic and stand density conditions estimated only minor interception losses of 8 % with respect to total canopy throughfall due to low canopy cover typical for cork oak systems. However, the integral balance of canopy interception losses, increased infiltration and other benefits of tree cover (compare Joffre andRambal, 1993, andDub-bert et al, 2014c) in this ecosystem could not be analysed in this study and need further investigations with regard to tree density and age.…”

Section: Infiltration and Distribution Of Event Watermentioning

confidence: 82%

Quantification of dynamic soil–vegetation feedbacks following an isotopically labelled precipitation pulse

Piayda¹,

Dubbert

Siegwolf

et al. 2017

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. The presence of vegetation alters hydrological cycles of ecosystems. Complex plant-soil interactions govern the fate of precipitation input and water transitions through ecosystem compartments. Disentangling these interactions is a major challenge in the field of ecohydrology and a pivotal foundation for understanding the carbon cycle of semiarid ecosystems. Stable water isotopes can be used in this context as tracer to quantify water movement through soilvegetation-atmosphere interfaces.The aim of this study is to disentangle vegetation effects on soil water infiltration and distribution as well as dynamics of soil evaporation and grassland water use in a Mediterranean cork oak woodland during dry conditions. An irrigation experiment using δ 18 O labelled water was carried out in order to quantify distinct effects of tree and herbaceous vegetation on the infiltration and distribution of event water in the soil profile. Dynamic responses of soil and herbaceous vegetation fluxes to precipitation regarding event water use, water uptake depth plasticity, and contribution to ecosystem soil evaporation and transpiration were quantified.Total water loss to the atmosphere from bare soil was as high as from vegetated soil, utilizing large amounts of unproductive evaporation for transpiration, but infiltration rates decreased. No adjustments of main root water uptake depth to changes in water availability could be observed during the experiment. This forces understorey plants to compete with adjacent trees for water in deeper soil layers at the onset of summer. Thus, understorey plants are subjected to chronic water deficits faster, leading to premature senescence at the onset of drought. Despite this water competition, the presence of cork oak trees fosters infiltration and reduces evapotranspirative water losses from the understorey and the soil, both due to altered microclimatic conditions under crown shading. This study highlights complex soilplant-atmosphere and inter-species interactions controlling rain pulse transitions through a typical Mediterranean savannah ecosystem, disentangled by the use of stable water isotopes.

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“…Furthermore, widely space planted poplar may influence water relations more likely as individual trees. David et al (2006) estimated interception loss produced by an individual oak and showed that throughfall measurements in the windward side of the crown included wind-driven rainfall plus that dripping from the crown. The work of David et al (2006) could explain, in part, the spatial variability of soil moisture around the tree trunks shown in Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pasture production and composition under poplar in a hill environment in New Zealand

et al. 2007

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Traditionally, poplar (Populus spp.) have been planted to control erosion on New Zealand's hill-slopes because of their capacity to dry out and bind together the soil. Two systems: (1) widely spaced, planted poplar for soil conservation, and (2) non-eroded open pasture were compared to determine the relative effect of the poplarpasture system on the production, nutritive value and species composition of the pasture, and on the water balance. Measurements were made at three sites with mature poplar (>29 years and 37-40 stems ha -1 ) and at a replicated experiment with young poplar (5 years, 50-100 stems ha -1 ). Soil water relations did not suggest strong competition for water between poplar and pasture. Pasture accumulation under mature poplar was 40% less than in the open pasture, but under young poplar was similar to that in the open pasture. Chemical composition of pasture suggested that feed quality of pasture in the open was better than under the poplar canopy, except during spring, when most chemical components were similar. At the most, in vitro digestibility of pasture dry matter was 8.9% lower and metabolisable energy of pasture dry matter was 1.5 MJ kg lower under the poplar canopy than in the open pasture. Shade tolerant species were not dominant in the plant community under the poplar canopy with grasses such as browntop (Agrostis capillaris, L.) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne, L.) being a high proportion of the plant community. Differences in chemical composition were related to differences in the botanical composition between the open pasture and the poplar understorey. It was concluded that the greatest effect of poplar was on pasture production due to shading, and that management of this silvopastoral system needs to focus on control of the tree canopy to lessen the decrease in pasture production.

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Rainfall interception by an isolated evergreen oak tree in a Mediterranean savannah

Cited by 89 publications

References 27 publications

Hedgerow impacts on soil‐water transfer due to rainfall interception and root‐water uptake

Hedgerow impacts on soil‐water transfer due to rainfall interception and root‐water uptake

Quantification of dynamic soil–vegetation feedbacks following an isotopically labelled precipitation pulse

Pasture production and composition under poplar in a hill environment in New Zealand

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