Abstract

TAMEZ PONCE, Cuahutemoc et al. Interception loss in four scrubland species in Northeastern Mexico. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.49, pp.126-147. ISSN 2007-1132.  https://doi.org/10.29298/rmcf.v9i49.177.

Rainfall interception from the arboreal mass is the component of the hydrological cycle that is determined by the climatic conditions and the characteristics of vegetation. The aim of this study was to quantify the redistribution of precipitation by means of gross precipitation, throughfall and stemflow, estimating interception losses and canopy storage capacity for four species of thorn scrub in northeastern Mexico. For the measurement of the components of gross precipitation and throughfall, four troughs were used for each species, while for the quantification of stemflow hoses adhered in stem were used. The analysis of 47 rainfall events distributed between September 23th, 2016 to October 1st, 2017, added a total of 488.9 mm of gross precipitation. The results for Acacia farnesiana, Condalia hookeri, Leucaena leucocephala and Casimiroa greggii for throughfall showed values of 77, 76, 86 and 83 %, respectively; while the component of the stemflow oscillated from 1.12 % for C. hookeri to 1.73 % for A. farnesiana. Linear regression analyzes between gross precipitation and interception loss for four species, showed values of 13, 16, 20 and 22 % for L. leucocephala, C. greggii, A. farnesiana and C. hookeri, respectively, key species when taking management decisions on water yield in a basin; thus, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that interception loss differs among the evaluated species.

Keywords : Canopy storage capacity; stemflow; Tamaulipan thorn scrub; throughfall; gross precipitation; interception loss.

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