TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationship between annual rainfall and interception ratio for forests across Japan
AU - Komatsu, Hikaru
AU - Shinohara, Yoshinori
AU - Kume, Tomonori
AU - Otsuki, Kyoichi
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Dr. Shinji Sawano (National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Japan) for fruitful discussion on the relationship between annual rainfall and the interception ratio. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for their critical and constructive comments. This research has been supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (#20780119).
PY - 2008/8/20
Y1 - 2008/8/20
N2 - Several previous studies in Japan have examined differences in rainfall interception amounts induced by differences in forest properties by comparing the annual rainfall interception ratios (annual rainfall interception divided by annual rainfall) from various sites without considering variations in meteorological conditions between sites. Rainfall interception actually depends on meteorological conditions as well as forest properties. This study examined variations in the annual interception ratio relating to the variation in annual rainfall, which would be the primary factor relating to the interception ratio, across Japan with the use of a rainfall interception model assuming the same forest properties (i.e., the canopy storage capacity, canopy closure, leaf area index (LAI), and the bulk coefficient for sensible heat transfer). The ratio ranged between 0.12 and 0.24 across Japan and was highly correlated to annual rainfall. This indicates that considering the variation in annual rainfall is critical for assessing the difference in rainfall interception amounts induced by forest properties. We reconsidered the results of previous studies in Japan that compared annual interception ratios between sites with different forest properties: (i) there is no clear difference in interception amounts between broadleaf and coniferous forests and (ii) there is a positive correlation in stem density and interception amounts for coniferous forests. These results still held when considering differences in annual rainfall between sites.
AB - Several previous studies in Japan have examined differences in rainfall interception amounts induced by differences in forest properties by comparing the annual rainfall interception ratios (annual rainfall interception divided by annual rainfall) from various sites without considering variations in meteorological conditions between sites. Rainfall interception actually depends on meteorological conditions as well as forest properties. This study examined variations in the annual interception ratio relating to the variation in annual rainfall, which would be the primary factor relating to the interception ratio, across Japan with the use of a rainfall interception model assuming the same forest properties (i.e., the canopy storage capacity, canopy closure, leaf area index (LAI), and the bulk coefficient for sensible heat transfer). The ratio ranged between 0.12 and 0.24 across Japan and was highly correlated to annual rainfall. This indicates that considering the variation in annual rainfall is critical for assessing the difference in rainfall interception amounts induced by forest properties. We reconsidered the results of previous studies in Japan that compared annual interception ratios between sites with different forest properties: (i) there is no clear difference in interception amounts between broadleaf and coniferous forests and (ii) there is a positive correlation in stem density and interception amounts for coniferous forests. These results still held when considering differences in annual rainfall between sites.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.036
DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:48849102364
VL - 256
SP - 1189
EP - 1197
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
SN - 0378-1127
IS - 5
ER -