The effects of meteorological conditions on throughfall drop size distribution under a broadleaved deciduous forest canopy in northeastern Maryland
Date
2016
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Forests cover roughly a third of the ice free land surface on the planet. The partitioning of incident precipitation by a forest canopy into throughfall and stemflow varies as a function of meteorological conditions, tree species, leaf morphology and surface roughness, among other factors. Nanko et al (2016) examined the throughfall drop size signature of precipitation events relative to changes in leaf canopy state of deciduous forests. However, little work has been done to quantify the influence of meteorological variables (air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, rainfall intensity and duration) on drop size among discrete rain events. To quantify individual throughfall drops, a laser disdrometer gauge was deployed below an observed drip point under a Liriodendron tulipifera L. (yellow poplar) tree, in northeastern Maryland, USA. Using multiple correspondence analysis, lower air temperature (4.0-12.0°C), low precipitation intensity (0.1-1.5 mm.5min-1), and low wind speed (0.1-1.0 m.s-1) were found to associate with periods of large throughfall drop production. Two canopy storage systems were identified, static and dynamic, with the static storage system being dominant during the foliated period and the dynamic during the unfoliated period. These results have implications for understanding biogeochemical cycles, as well as identification of throughfall hotspots from meteorological observations.