Seasonal and annual throughfall and stemflow in Andean temperate rainforests |
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| Authors: | Carlos E Oyarzún Roberto Godoy Jeroen Staelens Pablo J Donoso Niko E C Verhoest |
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| Institution: | 1. Instituto de Geociencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile;2. Instituto de Botánica, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile;3. Laboratory of Forestry, Geraardsbergse Steenweg 267, B‐9090 Gontrode, Belgium;4. Instituto de Silvicultura, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile;5. Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | The partitioning of gross rainfall into throughfall, stemflow, and interception loss and their relationships with forest structure was studied for a period of four years (October 2002–September 2006) and two years (October 2005–September 2007) in seven experimental catchments of temperate rainforest ecosystems located in the Andes of south‐central Chile (39°37′S, 600–925 m a.s.l.). The amount of throughfall, stemflow, and interception loss was correlated with forest structure characteristics such as basal area, canopy cover, mean quadratic diameter (MQD), and tree species characteristics in evergreen and deciduous forests. Annual rainfall ranged from 4061 to 5308 mm at 815 m a.s.l. and from 3453 to 4660 mm at 714 m a.s.l. Throughfall ranged from 64 to 89% of gross rainfall. Stemflow contributed 0·3–3·4% of net precipitation. Interception losses ranged from 11 to 36% of gross rainfall and depended on the amount of rainfall and characteristics as well as on forest structure, particularly the MQD. For evergreen forests, strong correlations were found between stemflow per tree and tree characteristics such as diameter at breast height (R2 = 0·92, P < 0·01) and crown projection area (R2 = 0·65, P < 0·01). Stemflow per tree was also significantly correlated with epiphyte cover of trunks in the old‐growth evergreen forests (R2 = 0·29, P < 0·05). The difference in the proportion of throughfall and interception loss among stands was significant only during winter. The reported relationships between rainfall partitioning and forest structure and composition provide valuable information for management practices, which aimed at producing other ecosystem services in addition to timber in native rainforests of southern Chile. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | old‐growth forests secondary Nothofagus forests rainfall partitioning |
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