Morfología Fluvial.-Effects of Mediterranean shrub species on rainfall interception

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rainfall is intercepted by vegetation. Water intercepted could be evaporated, or it could drip from the leaves and stems to the soil or it could run down the stems to the base of the plant. In the Mediterranean, where water is a scant resource, interception loss could have an influence on hydrology. Water storage capacity depends on vegetation type. In the Mediterranean, there are many types of shrubs, and many of them are able to intercept large volumes of water depending on the shrub type. Many lands of the Mediterranean basin of European Union have been abandoned in the last decades and consequently vegetation type changes too. This modifies hydrologic processes, changing the volume and the way in which the rainfall reaches the soil. The aim of this study was to characterize water storage capacity in 9 Mediterranean shrub species, working with the whole plant and comparing results obtained by two methods, rainfall simulation and submersion method in laboratory conditions.