Measuring interception loss and canopy storage in dryland vegetation: a brief review and evaluation of available research strategies
✍ Scribed by David Dunkerley
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 119 KB
- Volume
- 14
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6087
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The interception storage capacity has been measured for a range of dryland plants. Interception losses over time, however, arise in rain events that deliver either less or more than the canopy capacity. The fate of water in these cases depends on the eciency with which the intercepted water is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation from the plant canopies. Two primary methods to estimate interception losses are (i) calibrated process-based models of interception and evaporative loss and (ii) direct measurement. Models have been applied only rarely to dryland plant communities, and direct measurement techniques are in need of additional testing and re®nement. Most published estimates of interception loss in dryland plant communities therefore appear to be based upon inadequate data and methods. Research needs in this area are highlighted.