What is throughfall and stemflow?
Throughfall is defined as the precipitation that passes directly through a canopy or is initially intercepted by aboveground vegetative surfaces and subsequently drips from the canopy, whereas stemflow is the precipitation that drains from outlying leaves and branches and is channeled to the bole (or stem) of plants.
What is throughfall in geography?
Beneath the surface, water is transferred via throughflow, which is the movement of water through the lower soil towards rivers, and groundwater flow. Water that has been intercepted by foliage may also be transferred, either directly as throughfall, or by running down branches and stems via stemflow.
What is throughfall in soil?
Throughfall is the precipitation that penetrates through the canopy and reaches the soil surface by canopy drip. As the precipitation continues, these surfaces reach their retention capacities and excess water drains to the soil surface as canopy throughfall.
How does stemflow work?
In hydrology, stemflow is the flow of intercepted water down the trunk or stem of a plant. Stemflow, along with throughfall, is responsible for the transferral of precipitation and nutrients from the canopy to the soil. However, in more temperate climates stemflow levels are low and have little erosional power.
Why is Stemflow important?
Stemflow is an essential hydrologic process shaping the soil of forests by providing a concentrated input of rainwater and solutions. Because the texture of the tree bark is a crucial determination of stemflow, trees with smooth bark (Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica) and rough bark (Quercus robur) were examined.
What would cause an increase in surface runoff?
In addition to increasing imperviousness, removal of vegetation and soil, grading the land surface, and constructing drainage networks increase runoff volumes and shorten runoff time into streams from rainfall and snowmelt. As a result, the peak discharge, volume, and frequency of floods increase in nearby streams.
What is Throughfall exclusion?
A new manipulation project, the Throughfall Exclusion Experiment (TEE) is currently in development and will be used to determine the impact of multiple short-term droughts on soil biogeochemistry as well as on microbes, seedlings, and litter organisms.
What is Throughfall in the water cycle?
In Hydrology, throughfall is the process which describes how wet leaves shed excess water onto the ground surface. These drops have greater erosive power because they are heavier than rain drops. Rates of throughfall are higher in areas of forest where the leaves are broad-leaved.
What are the factors that affect runoff?
Meteorological factors affecting runoff:
- Type of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.)
- Rainfall intensity.
- Rainfall amount.
- Rainfall duration.
- Distribution of rainfall over the watersheds.
- Direction of storm movement.
- Antecedent precipitation and resulting soil moisture.
What is meant by interflow in hydrology?
In hydrology, interflow is the lateral movement of water in the unsaturated zone, or vadose zone, that first returns to the surface or enters a stream prior to becoming groundwater. As water accumulates in the subsurface, saturation may occur, and interflow may exfiltrate as return flows, becoming overland flow.
