Abstract
Throughfall variability plays a crucial role in regulating hydrological and biogeochemical processes in forest ecosystems. However, throughfall variability and its potential influencing factors remain unclear in the subtropical deciduous forest because of its complex canopy and meteorological conditions. Here, the spatial variability and temporal stability of throughfall were investigated from October 2016 to December 2017 within a deciduous forest in the subtropical hilly regions of eastern China, and the effects of meteorological variables and distance from nearest tree trunk on throughfall variability were systematically evaluated. Throughfall variability during the leafed period was slightly higher than that during the leafless period inferred from the coefficient of variation of throughfall amounts (CVTF), with 13.2%–40.9% and 18.7%–31.9%, respectively. The multiple regression model analysis suggested that the controlling factors of throughfall variability were different in studied periods: Maximum 10-min rainfall intensity, wind speed and air temperature were the dominant influencing factors on throughfall variability during the leafed period, with the relative contribution ratio (RCR) of 25.9%, 18.7% and 8.9%, respectively. By contrast, throughfall variability was affected mainly by the mean rainfall intensity (RCR=40.8%) during the leafless period. The temporal stability plots and geostatistical analysis indicated that spatial patterns of throughfall were stable and similar among rainfall events. Our findings highlight the important role of various meteorological factors in throughfall variability and are expected to contribute to the accurate assessment of throughfall, soil water and runoff within the subtropical forests.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
André F, Jonard M and Ponette Q (2008) Spatial and temporal patterns of throughfall chemistry within a temperate mixed oak-beech stand. Science of the Total Environment 397: 215–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.02.043
Bassette C and Bussière F (2008) Partitioning of splash and storage during raindrop impacts on banana leaves. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 148: 991–1004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.01.016
Cardil A, Imbert JB, Camarero JJ, et al. (2018) Temporal interactions among throughfall, type of canopy and thinning drive radial growth in an Iberian mixed pine-beech forest. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 252: 62–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.01.004
Carleton TJ and Kavanagh T (1990) Influence of stand age and spatial location on throughfall chemistry beneath black spruce. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 20: 1917–1925. https://doi.org/10.1139/x90-257
Carlyle-Moses DE, Laureano JSF and Price AG (2004) Throughfall and throughfall spatial variability in Madrean oak forest communities of northeastern Mexico. Journal of Hydrology 297: 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.04.007
Carlyle-Moses DE and Lishman CE (2015) Temporal persistence of throughfall heterogeneity below and between the canopies of juvenile lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) Hydrological Processes 29: 4051–4067. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10494
Coenders-Gerrits AMJ, Hopp L, Savenije HHG and Pfister L (2013) The effect of spatial throughfall patterns on soil moisture patterns at the hillslope scale. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 17: 1749–1763. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1749-2013
Cisneros C, Ghimire CP, and Tol CVD (2018) Spatial Patterns and Temporal Stability of Throughfall in a Mature Douglas-fir Forest Water, 10: 317. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10030317
Deng Z, Priestley SC, Guan H, et al. (2013) Canopy enhanced chloride deposition in coastal South Australia and its application for the chloride mass balance method. Journal of Hydrology 497, 62–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.05.040
Duijsings JJHM, Verstraten JM and Bouten W (1986) Spatial variability in nutrient deposition under an oak/beech canopy. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde 149: 718–727. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.19861490608
Durocher MG (1990) Monitoring spatial variability of forest interception. Hydrological Processes 4: 215–229. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.3360040303
Fan J, Oestergaard KT, Guyot A, et al. (2015) Spatial variability of throughfall and stemflow in an exotic pine plantation of subtropical coastal Australia. Hydrological Processes 29: 793–804. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10193
Fathizadeh O, Attarod P, Keim RF, et al. (2014) Spatial heterogeneity and temporal stability of throughfall under individual Quercus brantii trees. Hydrological Processes 28: 1124–1136. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9638
Gerrits AMJ, Pfister L and Savenije HHG (2010) Spatial and temporal variability of canopy and forest floor interception in a beech forest. Hydrological Processes 24: 3011–3025. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7712
Grömping U (2006) Relative importance for linear regression in R: the package relaimpo. Journal of statistical software 17: 1–27. https://www.jstatsoft.org/index.php/jss/article/view/v017i01/v17i01
Gu WZ, Liu JF, Lu JJ and Frentress J (2013) Current Challenges in Experimental Watershed Hydrology. In: Current Perspectives in Contaminant Hydrology and Water Resources Sustainability. Bradley P.M. (eds.), InTech. Rijeka, Croatia. pp 767–768. https://doi.org/10.5772/55087
Herwitz SR (1985) Interception storage capacities of tropical rainforest canopy trees. Journal of Hydrology 77: 237–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(85)90209-4
Holwerda F, Scatena FN, and Bruijnzeel LA (2006) Throughfall in a Puerto Rican lower montane rain forest: A comparison of sampling strategies. Journal of Hydrology 327: 592–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.12.014
Hsueh Y, Allen ST and Keim RF (2016) Finescale spatial variability of throughfall amount and isotopic composition under a hardwood forest canopy. Hydrological Processes 30: 1796–1803. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10772
Kato H, Onda Y, Nanko K, et al. (2013) Effect of canopy interception on spatial variability and isotopic composition of throughfall in Japanese cypress plantations. Journal of Hydrology 504: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.09.028
Keim RF, Skaugset AE and Weiler M (2005) Temporal persistence of spatial patterns in throughfall. Journal of Hydrology 314: 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.03.021
Klos PZ, Chain-Guadarrama A, Link TE, et al. (2014) Throughfall heterogeneity in tropical forested landscapes as a focal mechanism for deep percolation. Journal of Hydrology 519: 2180–2188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.10.004
Kowalska A, Boczoń A, Hildebrand R and Polkowska Ż (2016) Spatial variability of throughfall in a stand of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) with deciduous admixture as influenced by canopy cover and stem distance. Journal of Hydrology 538: 231–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.04.023
Levia DF and Herwitz SR (2000) Physical properties of water in relation to stemflow leachate dynamics: implications for nutrient cycling. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 30: 662–666. https://doi.org/10.1139/x99-244
Levia DF, Keim RF, Carlyle-Moses DE, and Frost EE (2011) Throughfall and stemflow in wooded ecosystems. In: Forest hydrology and biogeochemistry, Springer, Dordrecht. pp 425–443. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1363-5_21
Levia DF and Frost EE (2006) Variability of throughfall volume and solute inputs in wooded ecosystems. Progress in Physical Geography 30: 605–632. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133306071145
Liu Y, Liu S, Wan S, et al. (2017) Effects of experimental throughfall reduction and soil warming on fine root biomass and its decomposition in a warm temperate oak forest. Science of the Total Environment 574: 1448–1455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.116
Loescher HW, Powers JS and Oberbauer SF (2002) Spatial variation of throughfall volume in an old-growth tropical wet forest, Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology 18: 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467402002274
Loustau D, Berbigier P and Granier A (1992) Interception loss, throughfall and stemflow in a maritime pine stand. II. An application of Gash’s analytical model of interception. Journal of Hydrology 138: 469–485. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(92)90131-E
Matheron G (1963) Principles of geostatistics. Economic Geology 58: 1246–1266. https://doi.org/10.2113/gsecongeo.58.8.1246
Molina AJ, Llorens P, Garcia-Estringana P, et al. (2019) Contributions of throughfall, forest and soil characteristics to near-surface soil water-content variability at the plot scale in a mountainous Mediterranean area. Science of the Total Environment 647: 1421–1432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.020
Mululo Sato A, de Souza Avelar A and Coelho Netto AL (2011) Spatial variability and temporal stability of throughfall in a eucalyptus plantation in the hilly lowlands of southeastern Brazil. Hydrological Processes 25: 1910–1923. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7947
Nadkarni NM and Sumera MM (2004) Old-growth forest canopy structure and its relationship to throughfall interception. Forest Science 50: 290–298. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/50.3.290
Nanko K, Hotta N and Suzuki M (2006) Evaluating the influence of canopy species and meteorological factors on throughfall drop size distribution. Journal of Hydrology 329: 422–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.02.036
Nanko K, Hudson SA and Levia DF (2016a) Differences in throughfall drop size distributions in the presence and absence of foliage. Hydrological Sciences Journal 61: 620–627. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2015.1052454
Nanko K, Onda Y, Ito A and Moriwaki H (2008) Effect of canopy thickness and canopy saturation on the amount and kinetic energy of throughfall: An experimental approach. Geophysical Research Letters 35: L05401. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL033010
Nanko K, Onda Y, Kato H and Gomi T (2016b) Immediate change in throughfall spatial distribution and canopy water balance after heavy thinning in a dense mature Japanese cypress plantation. Ecohydrology 9: 300–314. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1636
Nanko K, Watanabe A, Hotta N and Suzuki M (2013) Physical interpretation of the difference in drop size distributions of leaf drips among tree species. Agricultural and forest meteorology 169: 74–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2012.09.018
Oliver MA and Webster R (2014) A tutorial guide to geostatistics: Computing and modelling variograms and kriging. Catena, 113: 56–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2013.09.006
Raat KJ, Draaijers GPJ, Schaap MG, et al. (2002) Spatial variability of throughfall water and chemistry and forest floor water content in a Douglas fir forest stand. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 6: 363–374. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-6-363-2002
Ritter A and Regalado CM (2010) Investigating the random relocation of gauges below the canopy by means of numerical experiments. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 150: 1102–1114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2010.04.010
Shen HT, Wang XX, Yue J and You WH (2011) Spatial variations of throughfall through secondary succession of evergreen broad-leaved forests in eastern China. Hydrological Processes 26: 1739–1747. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8251
Shinohara Y, Onozawa Y, Chiwa M, et al. (2009) Spatial variations in throughfall in a Moso bamboo forest: sampling design for the estimates of stand-scale throughfall. Hydrological Processes 24: 253–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7473
Staelens J, De Schrijver A, Verheyen K and 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.04.032
Su L, Xu W, Zhao C, et al. (2016) Inter- and intraspecific variation in stemflow for evergreen species and deciduous tree species in a subtropical forest. Journal of Hydrology 537: 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.028
Sun X, Onda Y, Kato H, et al. (2017) Estimation of throughfall with changing stand structures for Japanese cypress and cedar plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 402: 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.07.036
Tanaka N, Levia D, Igarashi Y, et al. (2015) Throughfall under a teak plantation in Thailand: a multifactorial analysis on the effects of canopy phenology and meteorological conditions. International Journal of Biometeorology 59: 1145–1156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0926-1
Tanaka N, Levia D, Igarashi Y, et al. (2017) What factors are most influential in governing stemflow production from plantation-grown teak trees? Journal of Hydrology 544: 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.11.010
Team RC (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria. http://www.Rproject.org/
Van Stan JT, Gay TE and Lewis ES (2016) Use of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to identify interactive meteorological conditions affecting relative throughfall. Journal of Hydrology 533: 452–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.12.039
Wei X, Bi H and Liang W (2017) Factors controlling throughfall in a Pinus tabulaeformis forest in North China. Scientific Reports 7: 14060. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14464-z
Wu H, Li J, Song F, et al. (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of stable water isotopes along the Yangtze River during two drought years. Hydrological Processes 32: 4–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11382
Wu H, Zhang X, Xiaoyan L, et al. (2015) Seasonal variations of deuterium and oxygen-18 isotopes and their response to moisture source for precipitation events in the subtropical monsoon region. Hydrological Processes 29: 90–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10132
Xiao Q, Mcpherson EG, Ustin SL, et al. (2000) Winter rainfall interception by two mature open -grown trees in Davis, California. Hydrological Processes 14: 763–784. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(200003)14:4<763::AID-HYP971>3.3.CO;2-Z
Zabret K, Rakovec J and Šraj M (2018) Influence of meteorological variables on rainfall partitioning for deciduous and coniferous tree species in urban area. Journal of Hydrology 558: 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.01.025
Zhang Y, Li XY, Li W, et al. (2017) Modeling rainfall interception loss by two xerophytic shrubs in the Loess Plateau. Hydrological Processes 31: 1926–1937. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11157
Zhang Y, Wang X, Hu R and Pan Y (2016a) Throughfall and its spatial variability beneath xerophytic shrub canopies within water-limited arid desert ecosystems. Journal of Hydrology 539: 406–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.051
Zhang Y, Shi K, Liu J, et al. (2016b) Meteorological and hydrological conditions driving the formation and disappearance of black blooms, an ecological disaster phenomena of eutrophication and algal blooms. Science of the Total Environment 569: 1517–1529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.244
Zhang Y, Wang X, Hu R and Pan Y (2018) Meteorological influences on process-based spatial-temporal pattern of throughfall of a xerophytic shrub in arid lands of northern China. Science of the Total Environment 619-620: 1003–1013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.207
Zhou G, Wei X, Wu Y, et al. (2011) Quantifying the hydrological responses to climate change in an intact forested small watershed in Southern China. Global Change Biology 17: 3736–3746. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02499.x
Ziegler AD, Giambelluca TW, Nullet MA, et al. (2009) Throughfall in an evergreen-dominated forest stand in northern Thailand: Comparison of mobile and stationary methods. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 149: 373–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.09.002
Zimmermann A, Germer S, Neill C, et al. (2008) Spatio-temporal patterns of throughfall and solute deposition in an open tropical rain forest. Journal of Hydrology 360: 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.07.028
Zimmermann A, Zimmermann B and Elsenbeer H (2009) Rainfall redistribution in a tropical forest: spatial and temporal patterns. Water Resources Research 45: W11413. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007470
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 41861022, 91647203, 51609145), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20161612), “One-Three-Five” Strategic Planning of Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. NIGLAS2017GH07), Science Foundation of Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (No. Y517009) and Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds (118000003). We would like to thank Chaoyu Zheng, Tongping Liu, and Xiaohu Zhou in Chuzhou Hydrology Laboratory for their contributions to the collection of the field dataset.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, Hx., Wu, Hw., Li, J. et al. Spatial-temporal variability of throughfall in a subtropical deciduous forest from the hilly regions of eastern China. J. Mt. Sci. 16, 1788–1801 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-019-5424-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-019-5424-9