Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season
<p>Tropical wet forests are complex ecosystems with a large number of plant species. These environments are characterized by a high water availability throughout the whole year and a complex canopy structure. However, how the different sections of the canopy contribute to total evaporation is...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/24/2179/2020/hess-24-2179-2020.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828888488651522048 |
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| author | C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez M. Coenders-Gerrits J. Wenninger J. Wenninger A. Gonzalez-Angarita H. Savenije |
| author_facet | C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez M. Coenders-Gerrits J. Wenninger J. Wenninger A. Gonzalez-Angarita H. Savenije |
| author_sort | C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Tropical wet forests are complex ecosystems with a large number of plant species. These environments are characterized by a high water availability
throughout the whole year and a complex canopy structure. However, how the different sections of the canopy contribute to total evaporation is poorly
understood. The aim of this work is to estimate the total evaporation flux and differentiate the contribution among canopy layers of a tropical wet
forest in Costa Rica. The fluxes were monitored during the dry season by making use of the energy balance to quantify the fluxes and stable water isotopes
to trace the sources of water vapor. Total evaporation was 275.5 <span class="inline-formula">mm</span> and represents 55.9 % of the recorded precipitation (498.8 <span class="inline-formula">mm</span>),
with 11.7 % of the precipitation being intercepted and evaporated along the forest canopy. The understory beneath 8 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> contributed
23.6 % of the evaporation, and almost half of it comes from the first 2 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> of the understory. Stable water isotope signatures show different
soil water sources depending on the plant type. Palms make use of a water source with an isotope signature similar to precipitation and
throughfall. Soil water with a fractionated signature is used by trees, bushes and lianas. The isotope signature of water vapor samples overlap among
different heights, but it was not possible to make use of the Keeling plot method due to the similar isotope signature of the possible sources of
water vapor as well as the high water concentration even on the dryer days.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:24:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5527084f46844518735581aba8ad8c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:24:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5527084f46844518735581aba8ad8c02022-12-21T23:46:29ZengCopernicus PublicationsHydrology and Earth System Sciences1027-56061607-79382020-04-01242179220610.5194/hess-24-2179-2020Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry seasonC. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez0C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez1M. Coenders-Gerrits2J. Wenninger3J. Wenninger4A. Gonzalez-Angarita5H. Savenije6Delft University of Technology, Water Resources Section, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the NetherlandsTecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal, 159-7050, Cartago, Costa RicaDelft University of Technology, Water Resources Section, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the NetherlandsDelft University of Technology, Water Resources Section, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the NetherlandsDepartment of Water Science and Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlandsindependent researcher, Delft, the NetherlandsDelft University of Technology, Water Resources Section, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands<p>Tropical wet forests are complex ecosystems with a large number of plant species. These environments are characterized by a high water availability throughout the whole year and a complex canopy structure. However, how the different sections of the canopy contribute to total evaporation is poorly understood. The aim of this work is to estimate the total evaporation flux and differentiate the contribution among canopy layers of a tropical wet forest in Costa Rica. The fluxes were monitored during the dry season by making use of the energy balance to quantify the fluxes and stable water isotopes to trace the sources of water vapor. Total evaporation was 275.5 <span class="inline-formula">mm</span> and represents 55.9 % of the recorded precipitation (498.8 <span class="inline-formula">mm</span>), with 11.7 % of the precipitation being intercepted and evaporated along the forest canopy. The understory beneath 8 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> contributed 23.6 % of the evaporation, and almost half of it comes from the first 2 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> of the understory. Stable water isotope signatures show different soil water sources depending on the plant type. Palms make use of a water source with an isotope signature similar to precipitation and throughfall. Soil water with a fractionated signature is used by trees, bushes and lianas. The isotope signature of water vapor samples overlap among different heights, but it was not possible to make use of the Keeling plot method due to the similar isotope signature of the possible sources of water vapor as well as the high water concentration even on the dryer days.</p>https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/24/2179/2020/hess-24-2179-2020.pdf |
| spellingShingle | C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez M. Coenders-Gerrits J. Wenninger J. Wenninger A. Gonzalez-Angarita H. Savenije Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| title | Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season |
| title_full | Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season |
| title_fullStr | Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season |
| title_short | Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season |
| title_sort | contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season |
| url | https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/24/2179/2020/hess-24-2179-2020.pdf |
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