Evaluation of drop size distribution impact on rainfall interception by trees

Zabret, Katarina (author), Rakovec, Jože (author), Šraj, Mojca (author)

Not all precipitation, falling above the trees, reach the ground. Part of it is retained in the canopy and eventually evaporates back into the atmosphere. This is known as intercepted rainfall. The process is influenced by various meteorological parameters of which we have mainly focused on drop diameter and velocity. Rainfall in the open and throughfall under birch and pine trees have been measured since 2014 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The results demonstrate that birch has intercepted 41% (±32%) and pine 70% (±24%) of rainfall on average per event. During the 146 individual events between 297 and 724,905 rain drops were recorded with the average drop diameter 0.73 mm (±0.23 mm) and average drop velocity 3.71 m/s (±0.49 m/s). We have closely analyzed the effect of drop size and velocity on interception by pine during two rainfall events in June and July 2014. In June event drops with larger drop diameter (6.5–8.5 mm) were observed in the open causing an instant reduction of rainfall interception by pine for 30%. Furthermore, twice during the both events the groups of drops with higher velocity (7.6–10.4 m/s) were observed, causing the reduction in rainfall interception.

• Language: English
• Keywords: rainfall, rainfall interception, throughfall, drop size distribution, drop diameter, drop velocity
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.08 - Published Scientific Conference Contribution
• Organization: FGG - Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering; FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2017
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 1, iss. 5, art. 117
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-131072
• ISSN on article: 2504-3900
• DOI: 10.3390/ecas2017-04137
• Publication date in RUL: 22.09.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Proceedings
• Shortened title: Proceedings
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2504-3900
• COBISS.SI-ID: 42487341

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 31.07.2017

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: padavine, prestrezanje padavin, prepuščene padavine, porazdelitev padavinskih delcev, premer kapljic, hitrost kapljic