Raindrop impact and water flow on the vegetative surfaces of trees and the effects on stemflow and throughfall generation

Abstract The physical processes of raindrop impact and water flow on the leaves and branches of selected tropical tree species were examined under laboratory conditions using simulated rainfall. Inclined branches were found to be particularly efficient in detaining impacting water droplets. This efficiency in raindrop detention increases linearly as a function of branch inclination on branches that are initially dry. On branches that have been thoroughly wetted, this increase in raindrop detention with branch inclination is best expressed as a logarithmic function. At branch inclinations of 60° above the horizontal, the quantity of branchflow was found to be > 80 per cent of the total quantity of impacting rainfall, indicating that < 20 per cent was lost to rainsplash. The strong positive relationship between branchflow and branch inclination explains why trees with large projected areas of steeply inclined upthrust branches have significant quantities of intercepted water draining from their branches and trunks under heavy rainfall conditions. This drainage from the woody frame of trees influences surficial processes by generating both stemflow and large throughfall droplets.