Throughfall and rainfall interception under a forest of Quercus pyrenica, Central System

Abstract

Interception, as the responsible process of the amount of precipitation never reaching the ground in vegetable communities, has been the object of several studies in various vegetation types, even though there are absences in the interception studies under some forested areas. This is the case of the Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.), one of the species that occupies more extension in the Iberian Peninsula, for which only a few studies have been carried out. In this sense, a study of the amount of throughfall in a small catchment covered by oak, has been conducted. To achieve this purpose, 64 throughfall collectors were placed in four different plots, which represent four different growth stages of the forest. In the analysis, the data monitored throughtout 25 months was used. This way, two complete seasonal periods could be sampled. The average percentage of throughfall in the catchment yields 14,9% of the total rainfall. This means that is evaporated to the atmosphere and is not part of the superficial hydrological cycle. In the period when the oaks have leaves, the average intercepted percentage was 18% and in the non-leaf period this percentage was the 11,9%.