Rainfall Interception in a Robinia pseudoacacia Forest Stand: Estimates Using Gash’s Analytical Model
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 4
Abstract
The authors have studied the principal components of rainfall interception loss in a planted forest stand of Robinia pseudoacacia on the Loess Plateau. The purpose was to provide new information about the applicability of the original Gash analytical model to a new geographic location and to one of the primary species being used in the region’s reforestation program. The authors estimated forest structure parameters, including the mean evaporation rate, canopy storage capacity at saturation, free throughfall coefficient, rainfall fraction diverted to the trunks, and trunk storage capacity by using the intercepts and slopes obtained from regression analyses of the measured interception loss, throughfall, and stemflow versus gross rainfall. The interception and components of interception loss for trees in a Robinia pseudoacacia forest located on a south-facing slope were calculated using Gash’s analytical model. The total estimated interception loss during the period of observation was 10.8% greater than that calculated on the basis of measurements of the gross rainfall, throughfall, and stemflow. The good agreement between the estimated and measured values indicates that Gash’s analytical model is suitable for estimating interception loss in forests on the Loess Plateau of China.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The field work in this study was supported by grants from the CAS Action-plan for Western Development (the 3rd), the Western Light Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2007YB02), and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams-Process simulation of soil and water of a watershed. The authors are indebted to the farmers in Yan’an City for their active participation in plot sampling and data collection. The authors’ appreciation also goes to Dr. David Warrington from the United Kingdom for his help to revise the manuscript, and the editors and three reviewers for their helpful suggestions and comments.
References
Carlyle-Moses, D. E., and Price, A. G. (1999). “An evaluation of the Gash interception model in a northern hardwood stand.” J. Hydrol., 214(1), 103–110.
Chen, Y. M., Wu, Q. X., and Liu, X. D. (1994). “A study on redistribution of precipitation by artificial Chinese pine in Loess hilly region.” J. North China Inst. Water Conserv. Hydroelectr. Power, 1(1), 62–68.
Christiansen, J. R., Elberling, B., and Jansson, P. E. (2006). “Modeling water balance and nitrate leaching in temperate Norway spruce and beech forests located on the same soil type with the CoupModel.” Forest Ecol. Manage., 237(1), 545–556.
Fan, S. X., Pei, T. F., Jiang, D. M., Cao, C. Y., and Lamusa, A. (2000). “Rainfall interception capacity of forest canopy between two different stands.” Chinese J. Appl. Ecol., 11(5), 671–674 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Gash, J. H. C. (1979). “An analytical model of rainfall interception by forests.” Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 105(443), 43–53.
Gash, J. H. C., and Morton, A. J. (1978). “An application of the Rutter model to the estimation of the interception loss from Thetford forest.” J. Hydrol., 38(1), 49–58.
Gash, J. H. C., Wright, I. R., and Lloyd, C. R. (1980). “Comparative estimates of interception loss from three coniferous forests in Great Britain.” J. Hydrol., 48(1), 89–105.
Herbst, M., Roberts, J. M., Rosier, P. T. W., and Gowing, D. J. (2006). “Measuring and modelling the rainfall interception loss by hedgerows in southern England.” Agr. Forest Meteorol., 141(2), 244–256.
Herbst, M., Rosier, P. T. W., McNeil, D. D., Harding, R. J., and Growing, D. J. (2008). “Seasonal variability of interception evaporation from the canopy of a mixed deciduous forest.” Agr. Forest Meteorol., 148(11), 1655–1667.
Huang, M., Zhang, L., and Gallichand, J. (2003). “Runoff responses to afforestation in a watershed of the Loess Plateau, China.” Hydrol. Process., 17(13), 2599–2609.
Leyton, L., Reynolds, E. R. C., and Thompson, F. B. (1967). “Rainfall interception in a forest and moorland.” International symposium on forest hydrology, W. E. Sopper and H. W. Lull, eds., Pergamon, Toronto, 163–178.
Li, L. J., et al. (2007). “Assessing the impact of climate variability and human activities on streamflow from the Wuding River Basin in China.” Hydrol. Process., 21(25), 3485–3491.
Liu, P. L., Zheng, S. Q., Ju, T. J., Wang, S. Q., and Xu, Y. (2005). “Ecological and environmental construction in the Yan’gou watershed of the Loess Plateau: Models and benefits.” Res. Soil Water Conserv., 5(1), 88–91 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Návar, J., and Bryan, R. B. (1994). “Fitting the analytical model of rainfall interception of Gash to individual shrubs of semi-arid vegetation in northeastern Mexico.” Agr. Forest Meteorol., 68(3), 133–143.
Orlandini, S., and Lamberti, A. (2000). “Effect of wind on precipitation intercepted by steep mountain slopes.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 5(4), 346–354.
Pearce, A. J., Rowe, L. K., and Stewart, J. B. (1980). “Nighttime, wet canopy evaporation rates and the water balance of an evergreen mixed forest.” Water Resour. Res., 16(5), 955–959.
Rutter, A. J., Morton, A. J., and Robins, P. C. (1975). “A predictive model of rainfall interception by forests, II. Generalization of the model and comparison with observations in some coniferous and hardwood stands.” J. Appl. Ecol., 12(1), 367–380.
Sambasiva, R. A. (1987). “Interception losses of rainfall from cashew trees.” J. Hydrol., 90(3), 293–301.
Šraj, M., Brilly, M., and Mikoš, M. (2008). “Rainfall interception by two deciduous Mediterranean forests of contrasting stature in Slovenia.” Agr. Forest Meteorol., 148(1), 121–134.
Wallace, J., and McJannet, D. (2006). “On interception modeling of a lowland coastal rainforest in northern Queensland, Australia.” J. Hydrol., 329(3–4), 477–488.
Wang, L., Wei, S. P., and Wu, F. Q. (2008). “Soil water environment and vegetation growth in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau.” Acta Ecol. Sinica, 29(1), 1543–1553 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Wang, X., Zhang, Y. P., and Liu, W. J. (2006). “Modeling canopy rainfall interception of a tropical seasonal rainforest in Sishuangbana, southwest China.” Acta Ecol. Sinica, 26(1), 722–729 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Wang, Y. H. (1986). “A quantitative study of the benefits of Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) on water and soil conservation in the eastern loess area of Gansu Province.” J. Beijing Forestry Univ., 8(1), 35–52 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Wei, S. P., Wang, L., and Wu, F. Q. (2008). “Hydrological properties of canopy of acacia in Loess hilly and gully region.” J. Nanjing Forest. Univ., 32(1), 43–48 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Wei, T. X., Zhu, J. Z., Zhang, X. P., He, K. N., and Gao, Z. J. (1998). “The regularity of water consumption of Black Locust and Chinese pine on the Loess Plateau in southwest of Shanxi Province.” J. Beijing Forest. Univ., 20(1), 36–39 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Xu, M. X., and Liu, G. B. (2004). “The characteristics and evolution of soil nutrient in artificial Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) forestland in the hilly Loess Plateau.” Plant Nutr. Fert. Sci., 10(1), 40–46 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Xu, Y., and Sidle, R. C. (2001). “Land use change and its regulation of Yan’gou Watershed in Loess hilly-gully region.” Acta Geogr. Sinica, 56(1), 657–666 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Yu, X. X., and Chen, L. H. (1996). “A study on water balance of protective forest ecosystem in the Loess area.” Acta Ecol. Sinica, 16(1), 238–245 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zeng, N., Shuttleworth, J. W., and Gash, J. H. C. (2000). “Influence of temporal variability of rainfall on interception loss. Part I. Point analysis.” J. Hydrol., 228(3), 228–241.
Zhang, J. J., He, K. N., and Zhu, J. Z. (1995). “The study on the crown interception of soil wand water conservation forests in the Loess Plateau of Shanxi Province.” J. Beijing Forest. Univ., 17(1), 27–31 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zinke, P. J. (1967). “Forest interception studies in the United States.” International symposium on forest hydrology, W. E. Sopper and H. W. Lull, eds., Pergamon, Toronto, 137–161.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 4 • April 2013
Pages: 474 - 479
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 21, 2011
Accepted: Apr 25, 2012
Published online: Apr 28, 2012
Published in print: Apr 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.