Rainfall Interception by Hardwood Forest Litter in the Southern Appalachians

J.D. Helvey

Treesearch

Rainfall Interception by Hardwood Forest Litter in the Southern Appalachians

Informally Refereed

Authors:

J.D. Helvey

Year:

1964

Type:

Research Paper

Station:

Southern Research Station

Source:

Res. Pap. SE-8. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 11 p.

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Download (PDF 750 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/3151.pdf

Abstract

The portion of rainfall over forest cover which does not reach mineral soil can be separated into the parts evaporated from the canopy and from the litter. Canopy interception loss is usually estimated by subtracting the sum of throughfall (water falling through tree crowns) and stemflow (water running down stems) from rainfall measured in forest openings (Hamilton and Rowe 1949). Litter interception loss is defined here as the volume of water retained by the L and F layers of the forest floor and later evaporated without reaching mineral soil. Canopy interception has been investigated in many parts of the world, but litter interception has received little attention, and the total amount of water evaporated from litter in hardwood forests has never been accurately determined. This paper presents results from a study of rainfall intercepted by litter in a southern Appalachian hardwood stand.

Citation

Helvey, J.D. 1964. Rainfall Interception by Hardwood Forest Litter in the Southern Appalachians. Res. Pap. SE-8. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 11 p.