Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level
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 p...
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doaj-617c634ace8740cd9355bda465e6b75d2020-11-24T22:17:55ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332017-12-0181224010.3390/atmos8120240atmos8120240Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event LevelKatarina Zabret0Jože Rakovec1Matjaž Mikoš2Mojca Šraj3Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaPart 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/cm2 and 23.3 mJ/cm2 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/8/12/240rainfallrainfall interceptionthroughfallraindrop size distributiondrop velocitybirchpineSlovenia |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Katarina Zabret Jože Rakovec Matjaž Mikoš Mojca Šraj |
spellingShingle |
Katarina Zabret Jože Rakovec Matjaž Mikoš Mojca Šraj Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level Atmosphere rainfall rainfall interception throughfall raindrop size distribution drop velocity birch pine Slovenia |
author_facet |
Katarina Zabret Jože Rakovec Matjaž Mikoš Mojca Šraj |
author_sort |
Katarina Zabret |
title |
Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level |
title_short |
Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level |
title_full |
Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level |
title_fullStr |
Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level |
title_full_unstemmed |
Influence of Raindrop Size Distribution on Throughfall Dynamics under Pine and Birch Trees at the Rainfall Event Level |
title_sort |
influence of raindrop size distribution on throughfall dynamics under pine and birch trees at the rainfall event level |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Atmosphere |
issn |
2073-4433 |
publishDate |
2017-12-01 |
description |
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/cm2 and 23.3 mJ/cm2 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. |
topic |
rainfall rainfall interception throughfall raindrop size distribution drop velocity birch pine Slovenia |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/8/12/240 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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