Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest
The energy distribution of natural rainfall droplets at different stages of canopy development in low-latitude semi-arid environments is still understudied. We assessed relationships between canopy development, gross rainfall (P) and throughfall (TF) characteristics in a tropical dry forest (TDF) wi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/1126 |
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| author | José Bandeira Brasil Eunice Maia de Andrade Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio María Fernández-Raga Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho Pedro Henrique Augusto Medeiros Maria Simas Guerreiro |
| author_facet | José Bandeira Brasil Eunice Maia de Andrade Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio María Fernández-Raga Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho Pedro Henrique Augusto Medeiros Maria Simas Guerreiro |
| author_sort | José Bandeira Brasil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The energy distribution of natural rainfall droplets at different stages of canopy development in low-latitude semi-arid environments is still understudied. We assessed relationships between canopy development, gross rainfall (P) and throughfall (TF) characteristics in a tropical dry forest (TDF) with a total of 95 events of natural rain during December 2019–July 2021, in Northeast Brazil. One disdrometer was installed in an open field to record the gross rainfall and another under the deciduous vegetation canopy to record the throughfall. At the onset of the rainy season with a low leaf density, a larger fraction of rainfall was converted into throughfall, which declines as the leaf density increases. For events higher than 3 mm, the number of TF drops was always higher than that of P and with smaller diameters, regardless of the stage of canopy development, which indicates fragmenting of the rain drops by the vegetation canopy. The insights of this study are useful to quantify the impact of canopy development stages of a TDF on the characteristics of rainfall reaching the soil forest. Since those characteristics affect the water balance and soil erosion at the hillslope scale, the information provided is crucial for water and soil management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:23:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f351dfc9275944f1923b4bb13c560780 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:23:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-f351dfc9275944f1923b4bb13c5607802023-12-01T21:53:10ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-07-01137112610.3390/atmos13071126Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry ForestJosé Bandeira Brasil0Eunice Maia de Andrade1Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio2María Fernández-Raga3Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho4Pedro Henrique Augusto Medeiros5Maria Simas Guerreiro6Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Ceará–UFC, Fortaleza 60020-181, BrazilDepartment of Soil and Water Conservation, Federal University of the Semi-Arid Region, Mossoró 59625-900, BrazilFederal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará—IFCE, Iguatu 63500-000, BrazilDepartment of Applied Physics, University of León, 24071 León, SpainDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Ceará–UFC, Fortaleza 60020-181, BrazilFederal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará—IFCE, Iguatu 63500-000, BrazilFP-ENAS, University Fernando Pessoa, 4249-004 Porto, PortugalThe energy distribution of natural rainfall droplets at different stages of canopy development in low-latitude semi-arid environments is still understudied. We assessed relationships between canopy development, gross rainfall (P) and throughfall (TF) characteristics in a tropical dry forest (TDF) with a total of 95 events of natural rain during December 2019–July 2021, in Northeast Brazil. One disdrometer was installed in an open field to record the gross rainfall and another under the deciduous vegetation canopy to record the throughfall. At the onset of the rainy season with a low leaf density, a larger fraction of rainfall was converted into throughfall, which declines as the leaf density increases. For events higher than 3 mm, the number of TF drops was always higher than that of P and with smaller diameters, regardless of the stage of canopy development, which indicates fragmenting of the rain drops by the vegetation canopy. The insights of this study are useful to quantify the impact of canopy development stages of a TDF on the characteristics of rainfall reaching the soil forest. Since those characteristics affect the water balance and soil erosion at the hillslope scale, the information provided is crucial for water and soil management.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/1126tropical dry forestthroughfalldisdrometerrainfallraindropsattenuation of rainfall |
| spellingShingle | José Bandeira Brasil Eunice Maia de Andrade Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio María Fernández-Raga Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho Pedro Henrique Augusto Medeiros Maria Simas Guerreiro Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest Atmosphere tropical dry forest throughfall disdrometer rainfall raindrops attenuation of rainfall |
| title | Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest |
| title_full | Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest |
| title_fullStr | Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest |
| title_short | Canopy Effects on Rainfall Partition and Throughfall Drop Size Distribution in a Tropical Dry Forest |
| title_sort | canopy effects on rainfall partition and throughfall drop size distribution in a tropical dry forest |
| topic | tropical dry forest throughfall disdrometer rainfall raindrops attenuation of rainfall |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/1126 |
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