Influence of raindrop size distribution on throughfall dynamics under pine and birch trees at the rainfall event level

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

Part of precipitation is intercepted by forest canopies, while the rest reaches the ground as throughfall or stemflow. This process is influenced by various meteorological variables, of which we have mainly focused on drop diameter and velocity. Rainfall in the open and throughfall under birch and pine trees have both been measured since 2014 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The results demonstrate that the total throughfall during 3.5 years was 73% and 53% of rainfall under birch and pine trees, respectively. During the 236 analysed events, the median volume diameter was 1.8 mm (±1.7 mm), and kinetic energy between 0.01 mJ/cm$^2$ and 23.3 mJ/cm$^2$ was recorded. We closely analysed the effect of rainfall microstructure on throughfall under pine and birch trees during three specific rainfall events. The increase in drop diameter and fall velocity during a rainfall event instantaneously increased throughfall under pine trees between 25% and 47%, whereas no such changes were observed under birch trees. This may be the consequence of different tree properties of the two species. Additionally, in the case of a saturated canopy, throughfall under pine trees exceeded rainfall in the open after an onset of larger and faster drops.

• Language: English
• Keywords: hydrology, rainfall, rainfall interception, throughfall, raindrop size distribution, drop velocity, birch, pine, Slovenia
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• 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: 15 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 8, iss. 12, art. 240
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-131002
• UDC: 556.1
• ISSN on article: 2073-4433
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos8120240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8231265
• Publication date in RUL: 21.09.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Atmosphere
• Shortened title: Atmosphere
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2073-4433
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522992153

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: 02.12.2017

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: hidrologija, padavine, prestrežne padavine, prepuščene padavine, porazdelitev velikosti kapljic, hitrost kapljic, breza, bor, Slovenija

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Funding programme: PhD grant