Throughfall and temporal trends of rainfall redistribution in an open tropical rainforest, south-western Amazonia (Rondônia, Brazil)

S. Germer (1) , H. Elsenbeer (1) , J. M. Moraes (2)

1 Institute of Geoecology
2 CENA - Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura

Throughfall volumes and incident rainfall were measured between 23 August and 2 December 2004 as well as from 6 January to 15 April 2005 for individual rain events of differing intensities and magnitudes in an open tropical rainforest in Rondônia, Brazil. Temporal patterns of throughfall spatial variability were examined. Estimated interception losses were compared to modeled interception losses obtained by applying the revised Gash model in order to identify sources of throughfall variability in open tropical rainforests.

Gross precipitation of 97 events amounted to 1309 mm, 89±5.6% (S.E.) of which reached the forest floor as throughfall. The redistribution of water within the canopy was highly variable in time, which we attribute to the high density of babassu palms (Orbignya phalerata), their seasonal leaf growth, and their conducive morphology. We identified a 10-min rainfall intensity threshold of 30 mm h^?1 above which interception losses were highly variable. This variability is amplified by funneling and shading effects of palms. This interaction between a rainfall variable and vegetation characteristics is relevant for understanding the hydrology of all tropical rainforests with a high palm density.

Domaines: Interfaces continentales, environnement; Océan, Atmosphère; Sciences de la Terre

S. Germer, H. Elsenbeer, J. M. Moraes. Throughfall and temporal trends of rainfall redistribution in an open tropical rainforest, south-western Amazonia (Rondônia, Brazil). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 2005, 2 (6), pp.2707-2738. ⟨hal-00298793⟩