Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A preliminary evaluation of throughfall sampling techniques in a mature coniferous forest

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Journal of Forestry Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rainfall, throughfall and stemflow were measured and canopy interception loss was derived for 14 rainfall events from June 22 to August 30, 2008 within a mature declining hybrid white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss × P. engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.)-subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.)-lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Dougl. ex Loud.) stand in south-central British Columbia, Canada. Stemflow was negligible during the study period, while, respectively, throughfall and canopy interception loss accounted for approximately 59.4% and 40.6% of the 50.1 mm of cumulative rainfall. Throughfall variability was assessed with three approaches involving roving and stationary wedge-type gauges, and stationary trough gauges. Throughfall exhibited large spatial variability with the coefficient of variability of study period throughfall sampled using 16 stationary trough gauges being 30.3%, while it was 38.0% and 28.7% for 32 stationary and 32 roving wedge gauges, respectively. Our analysis suggests that a roving gauge method is better than a stationary approach since the errors associated with event mean throughfalls are summed quadratically and a greater portion of the canopy area is sampled. Trough gauges were more efficient than wedge gauges; however, this efficiency was less than expected given their much larger sampling areas, suggesting that spatial autocorrelation lengths of throughfall may be longer than the trough systems. The spatial distribution of throughfall showed a high degree of temporal persistence throughout the study suggesting the existence of stable “wet” and “dry” inputs to the floors of these coniferous forests.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson AR, Pyatt PG. 1986. Interception of precipitation by pole-stage Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine and mature Sitka spruce at Kielder forest, Northumberland. Forestry, 59: 29–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaudry P, Sager R. 1995. The water balance of a coastal cedar hemlock ecosystem. In: B.T. Guy, J. Barnard (eds.), Mountain hydrology, peaks and valleys in research applications. Cambridge, Ontario: Canadian Water Resources Association, pp. 3–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brakensiek DL, Osborn HB, Rawls WJ. 1979. Field manual for research in agricultural hydrology. USDA Agricultural Handbook 224. Washington DC: United States Department of Agriculture, p. 550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunnell FL, Vales DJ. 1989. Comparison of methods for estimating forest overstory cover: differences among techniques. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 20: 101–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burrough PA. 1986. Principles of geographic information systems for land resources assessment. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calder IR. 1986. A stochastic model of rainfall interception. Journal of Hydrology, 89: 65–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantú Silva I, Okumura T. 1996. Throughfall, stemflow and interception loss in a mixed white oak forest (Quercus serrata Thunb.). Journal of Forest Research, 1: 123–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlyle-Moses DE, Gash JHC. 2011. Rainfall interception by forest canopies. In: D.F. Levia, D.E. Carlyle-Moses, T. Tanaka (eds.), Forest hydrology and biogeochemistry: Synthesis of past research and future directions. New York: Springer, pp. 407–424.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Carlyle-Moses DE, Flores Laureano JS, Price AG. 2004. Throughfall and throughfall spatial variability in Madrean oak forest communities of northeastern Mexico. Journal of Hydrology, 297: 124–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlyle-Moses DE, Park AD, Cameron JL. 2010. Modelling rainfall interception loss in forest restoration trials in Panama. Ecohydrology, 3: 272–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlyle-Moses DE, Price AG. 2007. Modelling canopy interception loss from a Madrean pine-oak stand, northeastern Mexico. Hydrological Processes, 21: 2572–2580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuartas LA, Tomasella J, Nobre AD, Hodnett MG, Waterloo MJ, Múnera JC. 2007. Interception water-partitioning dynamics for a pristine rainforest in Central Amazonia: Marked differences between normal and dry years. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 145: 69–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gash JHC. 1979. An analytical model of rainfall interception in forests. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 105: 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gash JHC, Wright IR, Lloyd CR. 1980. Comparative estimates of interception loss from three coniferous forests in Great Britain. Journal of Hydrology, 48: 89–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helvey JD, Patric JH. 1965. Canopy and litter interception of rainfall by hardwoods of eastern United States. Water Resources Research, 1: 193–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herwitz SR. 1985. Interception storage capacities of tropical rainforest canopies. Journal of Hydrology, 77: 237–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holwerda F, Scatena FN, Bruijnzeel LA. 2006. Throughfall in a Puerto Rican lower montane rain forest: A comparison of sampling strategies. Journal of Hydrology, 327: 592–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson RC. 1990. The interception, throughfall and stemflow in a forest in highland Scotland and the comparison with other upland forests in the U.K. Journal of Hydrology, 118: 281–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keim RF, Skaugset AE, Weiler M. 2005. Temporal persistence of spatial patterns of throughfall. Journal of Hydrology, 314: 263–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimmins JP. 1973. Some statistical aspects of sampling throughfall precipitation in nutrient cycling studies in British Columbia coastal forest. Ecology, 54: 1008–1019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klaassen W, Bosveld F, de Water E. 1998. Water storage and evaporation as constitutes of rainfall interception. Journal of Hydrology, 212/213: 36–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane PNJ, Morris J, Ningnan Z, Guangyi Z, Guoyi Z, Daping X. 2004. Water balance of tropical eucalypt plantations in south-eastern China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 124: 253–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lankreijer H, Lundberg A, Grelle A, Lindroth A, Seibert J. 1999. Evaporation and storage of intercepted rain analysed by comparing two models applied to a boreal forest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 98/99: 595–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levia DF, Frost EE. 2003. A review and evaluation of stemflow literature in the hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles of forested and agricultural ecosystems. Journal of Hydrology, 274: 1–29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Link TE, Unsworth M, Marks D. 2004. The dynamics of rainfall interception by a seasonal temperate rainforest. Agricultural and Forest Metoeorology, 124: 171–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd CR, Marques AD. 1988. Spatial variability of throughfall and stemflow measurements in Amazonian rainforest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 42: 63–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price AG, Carlyle-Moses DE. 2003. Measurement and modelling of growing-season canopy water fluxes in a mature mixed deciduous forest stand, southern Ontario, Canada. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 119: 69–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price A, Dunham K, Carleton T, Band L. 1997. Variability of water fluxes through the black spruce (Picea mariana) canopy and feather moss (Pleurozium schreberi) carpet in the boreal forest of Northern Manitoba. Journal of Hydrology, 196: 310–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross SL. 2013. Weather and climate: An introduction. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press, p 528.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sevruk B. 1982. Methods of correction for systematic error in point precipitation measurement for operation use. Operational Hydrology Report 21, WMO, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shachnovich Y, Berniler P, Bar P. 2008. Rainfall interception and spatial distribution of throughfall in a pine forest planted in an arid zone. Journal of Hydrology, 349: 168–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spittlehouse DL. 1998. Rainfall interception in young and mature conifer forests in British Columbia. Proceedings of the 23rd Conference on Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2–6 November 1998, Albuquerque, New Mexico: American Meteorological Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staelens J, De Schrijver A, Verheyen K, Verhoest NEC. 2006. Spatial variability and temporal stability of throughfall water under a dominant beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) tree in relationship to canopy cover. Journal of Hydrology, 330: 651–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkler RD. 2010. Watershed research summary: Mayson Lake hydrological processes study. Streamline Watershed Management Bulletin, 14: 16–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winkler RD, Boon S, Zimonick B, Spittlehouse D. 2014. Snow accumulation and ablation response to changes in forest structure and snow surface albedo after attack by mountain pine beetle. Hydrological Processes, 28: 197–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wullaert H, Pohlert T, Boy J, Valarezo C, Wilcke W. 2009. Spatial throughfall heterogeneity in a montane rain forest in Ecuador: Extent, temporal stability and drivers. Journal of Hydrology, 377: 71–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhan WQ, Zhang ZQ, Wu J, Xiao JQ. 2007. Spatial variability of throughfall in a Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) plantation in northern China. Frontiers in Forestry in China, 2: 169–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler AD, Giambelluca TW, Nullet MA, Sutherland RA, Tantasarin C, Vogler JB, Negishi JN. 2009. Throughfall in an evergreen-dominated forest stand in northern Thailand: Comparison of mobile and stationary methods. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 149: 373–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann A, Wilcke W, Elsenbeer H. 2007. Spatial and temporal patterns of throughfall quantity and quality in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador. Journal of Hydrology, 343: 80–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Thompson Rivers University, 900 McGill Road, Kamloops, British Columbia, V2C 0C8, Canada

    Darryl. E. Carlyle-Moses

  2. Graduate Program in Environmental Science, Thompson Rivers University, 900 McGill Road, Kamloops, British Columbia, V2C 0C8, Canada

    Chad. E. Lishman & Adam. J. McKee

Authors
  1. Darryl. E. Carlyle-Moses
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chad. E. Lishman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adam. J. McKee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Darryl. E. Carlyle-Moses.

Additional information

Project funding: This research was funded by a British Columbia Forest Investment Account, Forest Science Program (Project # Y091045) grant and a National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant awarded to DC-M.

Corresponding editor: Yu Lei

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Carlyle-Moses, D.E., Lishman, C.E. & McKee, A.J. A preliminary evaluation of throughfall sampling techniques in a mature coniferous forest. Journal of Forestry Research 25, 407–413 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0468-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0468-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation