Temporal variability of throughfall as a function of the canopy development stage: from seasonal to intra-event scale |
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| Authors: | José Bandeira Brasil Eunice Maia de Andrade Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio Julio Cesar Neves dos Santos Pedro Henrique Augusto Medeiros |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Ceará – UFC, Campus Do Pici , Fortaleza, Brazil;2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Research and Extension Group on Water and Soil Management in the Brazilian Semiarid – MASSA , Fortaleza, Brazil josebbrasil@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4335-7838;4. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Research and Extension Group on Water and Soil Management in the Brazilian Semiarid – MASSA , Fortaleza, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9750-0364;5. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Research and Extension Group on Water and Soil Management in the Brazilian Semiarid – MASSA , Fortaleza, Brazil;6. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, Brazil – IFCE, Campus Iguatu , Iguatu, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5105-4821;7. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Triangulo Mineiro, Brazil – IFTM, Campus Uberlandia , Uberlandia, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9466-5158;8. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, Brazil – IFCE, Campus Maracanaú , Fortaleza, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4879-3148 |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT The interception process impacts rainfall magnitude and intensity under the canopy. In this study, the effect of plant interception on throughfall characteristics was assessed in the deciduous Caatinga vegetation, at different canopy development stages and for temporal scales ranging from seasonal to the intra-event scale. Throughfall and stemflow percentages were slightly higher at the onset of the rainy season, when leaf area density is low, with resulting lower interception losses. However, there was no statistical difference among the variables at the seasonal scale. At the intra-event scale, average and maximum throughfall intensity at different time intervals showed statistical difference between the stages of canopy development. Regardless of leaf area density and rainfall depth, vegetation is able to retain all the water up to 2 min in the beginning of each rainfall event with accumulated rainfall smaller than 0.6 mm. Furthermore, the Caatinga vegetation attenuates the rainfall intensity by 30–40%. |
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| Keywords: | Rainfall interception throughfall variability dynamics of leaf density Caatinga ecohydrology semi-arid |
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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4335-7838;4. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Research and Extension Group on Water and Soil Management in the Brazilian Semiarid – MASSA , Fortaleza, Brazil