Mulching mode and planting density affect canopy interception loss of rainfall and water use efficiency of dryland maize on the Loess Plateau of China

High and efficient use of limited rainwater resources is of crucial importance for the crop production in arid and semi-arid areas. To investigate the effects of different soil and crop management practices（i.e., mulching mode treatments： flat cultivation with non-mulching, flat cultivation with straw mulching, plastic-covered ridge with bare furrow and plastic-covered ridge with straw-covered furrow; and planting density treatments： low planting density of 45,000 plants/hm^2, medium planting density of 67,500 plants/hm^2 and high planting density of 90,000 plants/hm^2） on rainfall partitioning by dryland maize canopy, especially the resulted net rainfall input beneath the maize canopy, we measured the gross rainfall, throughfall and stemflow at different growth stages of dryland maize in 2015 and 2016 on the Loess Plateau of China. The canopy interception loss was estimated by the water balance method. Soil water storage, leaf area index, grain yield（as well as it components） and water use efficiency of dryland maize were measured or calculated. Results showed that the cumulative throughfall, cumulative stemflow and cumulative canopy interception loss during the whole growing season accounted for 42.3%–77.5%, 15.1%–36.3% and 7.4%–21.4% of the total gross rainfall under different treatments, respectively. Soil mulching could promote the growth and development of dryland maize and enhance the capability of stemflow production and canopy interception loss, thereby increasing the relative stemflow and relative canopy interception loss and reducing the relative throughfall. The relative stemflow and relative canopy interception loss generally increased with increasing planting density, while the relative throughfall decreased with increasing planting density. During the two experimental years, mulching mode had no significant influence on net rainfall due to the compensation between throughfall and stemflow, whereas planting density significantly affected net rainfall. The highest grain yield and water use efficiency of dryland maize were obtained under the combination of medium planting density of 67,500 plants/hm^2 and mulching mode of plastic-covered ridge with straw-covered furrow. Soil mulching can reduce soil evaporation and retain more soil water for dryland maize without reducing the net rainfall input beneath the maize canopy, which may alleviate the contradiction between high soil water consumption and insufficient rainfall input of the soil. In conclusion, the application of medium planting density（67,500 plants/hm^2） under plastic-covered ridge with bare furrow is recommended for increasing dryland maize production on the Loess Plateau of China.

Characteristics of canopy interception and its simulation with a revised Gash model for a larch plantation in the Liupan Mountains, China

Canopy interception is a significant proportion of incident rainfall and evapotranspiration of forest ecosystems. Hence, identifying its magnitude is vital for studies of eco-hydrological processes and hydrological impact evaluation. In this study, throughfall, stemflow and interception were measured in a pure Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr.（larch） plantation in the Liupan Mountains of northwestern China during the growing season（May–October） of 2015, and simulated using a revised Gash model. During the study period, the total precipitation was 499.0 mm; corresponding total throughfall, stemflow and canopy interception were 410.3, 2.0 and 86.7 mm,accounting for 82.2, 0.4 and 17.4% of the total precipitation, respectively. With increasing rainfall, the canopy interception ratio of individual rainfall events decreased initially and then tended to stabilize. Within the study period, the simulated total canopy interception, throughfall and stemflow were 2.2 mm lower, 2.5 mm higher and 0.3 mm lower than their measured values, with a relative error of 2.5, 0.6 and 15.0%, respectively. As quantified by the model, canopy interception loss（79%） mainly consisted of interception caused by canopy adsorption, while the proportions of additional interception and trunk interception were small. The revised Gash model was highly sensitive to the parameter of canopy storage capacity,followed by the parameters of canopy density and mean rainfall intensity, but less sensitive to the parameters of mean evaporation rate, trunk storage capacity, and stemflow ratio. The revised Gash model satisfactorily simulated the total canopy interception of the larch plantation within the growing season but was less accurate for some individual rainfall events, indicating that some flaws exist in the model structure. Further measures to improve the model’s ability in simulating the interception of individual rainfall events were suggested.

Improving the Vegetation Dynamic Simulation in a Land Surface Model by Using a Statistical-dynamic Canopy Interception Scheme

Canopy interception of incident precipitation, as a critical component of a forest＇s water budget, can affect the amount of water available to the soil, and ultimately vegetation distribution and function. In this paper, a statistical-dynamic approach based on leaf area index and statistical canopy interception is used to parameterize the canopy interception process. The statistical-dynamic canopy interception scheme is implemented into the Community Land Model with dynamic global vegetation model （CLM-DGVM） to improve its dynamic vegetation simulation. The simulation for continental China by the land surface model with the new canopy interception scheme shows that the new one reasonably represents the precipitation intercepted by the canopy. Moreover, the new scheme enhances the water availability in the root zone for vegetation growth, especially in the densely vegetated and semi-arid areas, and improves the model＇s performance of potential vegetation simulation.

Interception of sulfate deposition from a closed canopy to a forest gap edge canopy in a subalpine dragon spruce plantation

Reducing the threats of sulfate ion(SO42-)deposition to terrestrial ecosystems is a great challenge.The canopy interception effect on SO42-deposition has been well documented,but the interception efficiency of the gap edge remains unknown.Therefore,a subalpine dragon spruce(Picea asperata)plantation was evaluated in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.The dynamics of the SO42-concentration in the throughfall were investigated from the gap edge to the closed canopy during the rainfall and snowfall periods from August 2015 to July 2016.The annual input of SO42-totaled 2.56 kg/ha through rainfall and 0.69 kg/ha through snowfall.The total annual net interception fluxes(NIFs)of SO42-at the gap edge and in the closed canopy were 1.48 kg/ha and 0.66 kg/ha,respectively,and the net interception ratios(NIRs)accounted for 45.40%and 20.25%,respectively.The NIF and the NIR of SO42-at the gap edge were higher than those in the closed canopy.Therefore,the results suggested that a significant amount of SO42-deposition was intercepted by the tree canopy in the subalpine plantation,with more SO42-deposition at the gap edge than in the closed canopy,which is beneficial for improving the water quality in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River via forest management.

Estimating light interception using the color attributes of digital images of cotton canopies

Crop growth and yield depend on canopy light interception （LI）. To identify a low-cost and relatively efficient index for measuring LI, several color attributes of red-green-blue （RGB）, hue-saturation-intensity （HSI）, hue-saturation-value （HSV） color models and the component values of color attributes in the RGB color model were investigated using digital images at six cotton plant population densities in 2012-2014. The results showed that the LI values followed downward quadratic curves after planting. The red （R）, green （G） and blue （B） values varied greatly over the years, in accordance with Cai＇s research demonstrating that the RGB model is affected by outside light. Quadratic curves were fit to these color attributes at six plant population densities. Additionally, linear regressions of LI on every color attribute revealed that the hue （H） values in HSI and HSV were significantly linearly correlated with LI with a determination coefficient （R2）〉0.89 and a root mean square error （RMSE）=0.05. Thus, the H values in the HSI and HSV models could be used to measure LI, and this hypothesis was validated. The H values are new indexes for quantitatively estimating the LI of heterogeneous crop cano- pies, which will provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the crop canopy structure. However, further research should be conducted in other crops and under other growing and environmental conditions to verify this finding.

A preliminary evaluation of throughfall sampling techniques in a mature coniferous forest

Rainfall, throughfall and stemflow were measured and canopy interception loss was derived for 14 rainfall events from June 22 to August 30, 2008 within a mature declining hybrid white spruce （Picea glauca （Moench） Voss x p engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.） - subalpine fir （Abies lasiocarpa （Hook.） Nutt.） - lodgepole pine （Pinus contorta vat. latifolia Dougl. ex Loud.） stand in south-central British Columbia, Can- ada. Stemflow was negligible during the study period, while, respectively throughfall and canopy interception loss accounted for approximately 59.4% and 40.6% of the 50.1 mm of cumulative rainfall. Throughfall variability was assessed with three approaches involving roving and stationary wedge-type gauges, and stationary trough gauges. Throughfall exhibited large spatial variability with the coefficient of variability of study period throughfall sampled using 16 stationary trough gauges being 30.3%, while it was 38.0% and 28.7% for 32 stationary and 32 roving wedge gauges, respectively. Our analysis suggests that a roving gauge method is better than a stationary approach since the errors associated with event mean throughfalls are summed quadratically and a greater portion of the canopy area is sampled. Trough gauges were more efficient than wedge gauges; however, this efficiency was less than expected given their much larger sampling areas, suggesting that spatial autocorrelation lengths of throughfall may be longer than the trough systems. The spatial distribution of throughfall showed a high degree of temporal persistence throughout the study suggesting the existence of stable ＂wet＂ and ＂dry＂ inputs to the floors of these coniferous forests.

Xin'anjiang Nested Experimental Watershed(XAJ-NEW)for Understanding Multiscale Water Cycle:Scientific Objectives and Experimental Design

This paper presents the background,scientific objectives,experimental design,and preliminary achievements of the Xin’anjiang nested experimental watershed(XAJ-NEW),implemented in 2017 in eastern China,which has a subtropical humid monsoon climate and a total area of 2674 km2.The scientific objectives of the XAJ-NEW include building a comprehensive,multiscale,and nested hydrometeorological monitoring and experimental program,strengthening the observation of the water cycle,discovering the spatiotemporal scaling effects of hydrological processes,and revealing the mechanisms controlling runoff generation and partitioning in a typical humid,hilly area.After two years of operation,preliminary results indicated scale-dependent variability in key hydrometeorological processes and variables such as precipitation,runoff,groundwater,and soil moisture.The effects of canopy interception and runoff partitioning between the surface and subsurface were also identified.Continuous operation of this program can further reveal the mechanisms controlling runoff generation and partitioning,discover the spatiotemporal scaling effects of hydrological processes,and understand the impacts of climate change on hydrological processes.These findings provide new insights into understanding multi scale hydrological processes and their responses to meteorological forcings,improving model parameterization schemes,and enhancing weather and climate forecast skills.

Simulating Spatial Distribution of Canopy Rainfall Interception of Forests in China

The canopy rainfall interception modei linked to environmental conditions and biological features is established on the basis of stationary observation and measurements in China. Upscaling from site observation to regional Ievel estimation of canopy rainfall interception has been made. The potential interception value of forests during the rainfall season in China according to rainfall records of May, July and September in the year 1982, has been simulated and mapped under the GIS software package Idris...

Comparing the impacts of mature spruce forests and grasslands on snow melt,water resource recharge,and run-off in the northern boreal environment

Snow-melt runoff is an important factor in control of flooding and soil erosion in higher and cold regions of the world.In 1992-2008-2008,processes of snow accumulation and melting were monitored at two adjacent sites of the Paljakka environmental research centre(Finland).The forest stand of mature spruce(Picea abies)has been compared with adjacent,local,and open grassland.In the forest,snowpack duration fluctuated for 180-245 days,with a maximum depth of 78-152 cm and snow-water content of 167-406 mm,while in the open grassland this occurred for some 20 days less,with maximum depth 65-122 cm,and snow-water content 143-288 mm.The snow-water captured in the canopy reached a maximum 27%of that registered on the ground;the loss of intercepted snow by sublimation was approximately 26% of the annual snowfall.During the high melt period(April-May),the degree-day factor in the forest stand achieved 60%of values observed in the grassland(2.3-3.5 against 3.8-6.0 mm℃^(-1)day^(-1)).The hydrological model BROOK 90 was employed to analyse potential water resources recharge,and flood risk at Paljakka.Considering the normal climate season,snow-melt runoff from the forest exceeded the grassland by 22%(225 against 185 mm).In extreme situations,the maximum daily runoff from snow-melt in the grasslands(57 mm day^(-1))exceeded 2.6 times the values in spruce forest(22 mm day^(-1)).