[Canopy rainfall storage capacity of tropical seasonal rainforest and rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna].
Based on the 2003-2004 laboratory and field observation data, and with scaling-up method, this paper studied the canopy rainfall storage capacity of tropical seasonal rainforest and rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna. The results showed that the canopy rainfall storage capacity was 0.45-0.79 mm for tropical seasonal rainforest and 0.48-0.71 mm for rubber plantation, and that of the branch and bark accounted for >50 % of the total. For these two forests, the canopy rainfall storage capacity was much higher in foggy season (from November to February) and dry-hot season (from March to April) than in rainy season (from May to October), and the duration needed to reach water saturation was about 5 min for leaf, 2-3 h for bark, and 2. 5-4 h for branch. During the processes of wetting and air-drying, leaf was easier while branch and bark were somewhat difficult to hold water and then be air-dried, suggesting that leaf played an important role in intercepting rainfall in short-duration rainfall events, while branch and bark could work much better in doing this in long-duration or high-intensity rainfall events. Compared with rubber plantation, tropical seasonal rainforest had a stronger rainfall-storage capacity due to its multi-layer structure of canopy and excellent water-holding performance.
Wang
Xin
X
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China. wangx913@163.com
Zhang
Yiping
Y
D002681:China; D028482:Hevea / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000378:metabolism; D018526:Plant Transpiration / Q000502:physiology*; D011891:Rain; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
D014867:Water