Affiliation:
1. College of Grassland Agriculture Northwest A&F University Yangling China
2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling China
3. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources Yangling China
4. College of Life Sciences Guizhou University Guiyang China
5. College of Resources and Environment Anhui Agricultural University Hefei China
6. The University of Western Australia Institute of Agriculture & School of Agriculture and Environment Perth WA Australia
Abstract
AbstractCanopy rainfall interception is one key hydrological process, affecting rainwater redistribution and effectiveness in semiarid regions. Canopy rainfall interception loss is jointly influenced by meteorology, vegetation and topography. The canopy water storage capacity (S), rainfall interception depth (Im) and ratio (I%) and vegetation characteristics, together with topographic factors of three grassland communities (dominated by Bothriochloa ischaemum, Lespedeza davurica and Artemisia gmelinii, respectively) were investigated on the Loess Plateau of China during the main growing season (June to September). Results showed that Im ranged from 0.55 to 0.89 mm and I% ranged from 6.14% to 12.1%, with the maximum values occurring in August for three communities, and A. gmelinii community had the largest Im (0.89 mm) and I% (12.1%). The Im and I% were positively correlated with aboveground biomass (AGB), coverage (Cov), leaf area index (LAI), community‐weighted mean height (CWMH) and altitude (Alt), but negatively correlated with slope degree and rainfall intensity (RI). Hierarchical partitioning analysis (HPA) showed that AGB had the highest contribution for Im (20.3%), while Alt had the highest contribution for I% (18.2%). The regression models based on forward selection could effectively predict the values of Im (R2 = 0.802, RMSE = 0.049) and I% (R2 = 0.546, RMSE = 1.434). Topographic factors (altitude, slope degree and aspect) indirectly influenced both Im and I% by modulating vegetation characteristics (AGB, Cov, etc.). All these indicated that aboveground biomass mainly determines grassland community rainfall interception loss in the semiarid Loess Plateau.