Interception loss, throughfall and stemflow by Larrea divaricata: The role of rainfall characteristics and plant morphological attributes

FLORIO, EVA L.; WHITWORTH-HULSE, JUAN I.; BLANCO, LISANDRO J.; MAGLIANO, PATRICIO N.; AGUIRRE, ESTEBAN C.

ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH

SPRINGER TOKYO

Año: 2019 vol. 34 p. 753 - 764

0912-3814

Rainfall partitioning into interception loss, throughfall and stemflow affects the amount and the spatial heterogeneity of water entering into the soil at the patch scale, strongly controlling net primary productivity of drylands. In this paper, we explored rainfall partitioning and its biophysical controls in Larrea divaricata (jarilla), one of the most abundant shrubs in the Dry Chaco rangelands (Argentina). On average, interception loss, throughfall and stemflow accounted for 9.4, 78.6 and 12.0% of total rainfall, respectively. Interception loss proportion decreased with the increment of rainfall event size and intensity, whereas throughfall proportion showed the opposite pattern. Stemflow proportion increased with the increment of rainfall event size but presented different relations with rainfall event intensity. The increment of rainfall event intensity increased the stemflow in small events (20 mm). Stemflow increased in plants with higher angles of insertion of stems (measured at 50 and 100 cm from soil surface; p