GEOG 3610 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Plant Community, Surface Tension, Wind Speed
28 Mar 2018
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Document Summary
Rain = through fall + stemflow + interception. Interception: precipitation that does not reach the soil, but is intercepted by the leaves, branches of plants and the forest floor. Results in reduction in precipitation and transpiration. Accumulates in leaves, become bigger drops and fall. Vegetation characteristics: growth form and structure (ex. brush vs paper, different surface size, and different absorption powers, coniferous 30-35, deciduous 15-25% Interception: rain never reaches the ground; affects soil level. Plant community structure: in forests of multiple overlapping canopies storage of up to 25mm of precipitation. Precipitation density: lower intensity higher interception. Precipitation duration: amount of interception depends in interception capacity, a large portion of short duration precipitation is intercepted. Wind speed: blows precipitation further into tree promoting interception, promotes evaporation as taller vegetation presents a rougher surface and therefore generates more eddy convection necessary for vapour transport (low aerodynamic resistance)
