Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I General perspectives
- Part II Regional floristic and animal diversity
- Part III Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
- 20 Hydrometeorological patterns in relation to montane forest types along an elevational gradient in the Yungas of Bolivia
- 21 Structure and dynamics of tropical montane cloud forests under contrasting biophysical conditions in north-western Costa Rica
- 22 Quantitative measures of immersion in cloud and the biogeography of cloud forests
- 23 Understanding the role of fog in forest hydrology: stable isotopes as tools for determining input and partitioning of cloud water in montane forests
- 24 Using stable isotopes to identify orographic precipitation events at Monteverde, Costa Rica
- 25 Using “biosensors” to elucidate rates and mechanisms of cloud water interception by epiphytes, leaves, and branches in a sheltered Colombian cloud forest
- 26 Water dynamics of epiphytic vegetation in a lower montane cloud forest: fog interception, storage, and evaporation
- 27 Epiphyte biomass in Costa Rican old-growth and secondary montane rain forests and its hydrological significance
- 28 Comparison of passive fog gages for determining fog duration and fog interception by a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest
- 29 Fog interception in a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest: a wet-canopy water budget approach
- 30 Fog gage performance under conditions of fog and wind-driven rain
- 31 The wet-canopy water balance of a Costa Rican cloud forest during the dry season
- 32 Measured and modeled rainfall interception in a lower montane forest, Ecuador
- 33 Measuring cloud water interception in the Tambito forests of southern Colombia
- 34 Relationships between rainfall, fog, and throughfall at a hill evergreen forest site in northern Thailand
- 35 History of fog and cloud water interception research in Hawai'i
- 36 Interpreting canopy water balance and fog screen observations: separating cloud water from wind-blown rainfall at two contrasting forest sites in Hawai'i
- 37 Historical background of fog water collection studies in the Canary Islands
- 38 Effects of fog on climatic conditions at a sub-tropical montane cloud forest site in northern Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
- Part IV Nutrient dynamics in tropical montane cloud forests
- Part V Cloud forest water use, photosynthesis, and effects of forest conversion
- Part VI Effects of climate variability and climate change
- Part VII Cloud forest conservation, restoration, and management issues
- References
26 - Water dynamics of epiphytic vegetation in a lower montane cloud forest: fog interception, storage, and evaporation
from Part III - Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2011
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I General perspectives
- Part II Regional floristic and animal diversity
- Part III Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
- 20 Hydrometeorological patterns in relation to montane forest types along an elevational gradient in the Yungas of Bolivia
- 21 Structure and dynamics of tropical montane cloud forests under contrasting biophysical conditions in north-western Costa Rica
- 22 Quantitative measures of immersion in cloud and the biogeography of cloud forests
- 23 Understanding the role of fog in forest hydrology: stable isotopes as tools for determining input and partitioning of cloud water in montane forests
- 24 Using stable isotopes to identify orographic precipitation events at Monteverde, Costa Rica
- 25 Using “biosensors” to elucidate rates and mechanisms of cloud water interception by epiphytes, leaves, and branches in a sheltered Colombian cloud forest
- 26 Water dynamics of epiphytic vegetation in a lower montane cloud forest: fog interception, storage, and evaporation
- 27 Epiphyte biomass in Costa Rican old-growth and secondary montane rain forests and its hydrological significance
- 28 Comparison of passive fog gages for determining fog duration and fog interception by a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest
- 29 Fog interception in a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest: a wet-canopy water budget approach
- 30 Fog gage performance under conditions of fog and wind-driven rain
- 31 The wet-canopy water balance of a Costa Rican cloud forest during the dry season
- 32 Measured and modeled rainfall interception in a lower montane forest, Ecuador
- 33 Measuring cloud water interception in the Tambito forests of southern Colombia
- 34 Relationships between rainfall, fog, and throughfall at a hill evergreen forest site in northern Thailand
- 35 History of fog and cloud water interception research in Hawai'i
- 36 Interpreting canopy water balance and fog screen observations: separating cloud water from wind-blown rainfall at two contrasting forest sites in Hawai'i
- 37 Historical background of fog water collection studies in the Canary Islands
- 38 Effects of fog on climatic conditions at a sub-tropical montane cloud forest site in northern Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
- Part IV Nutrient dynamics in tropical montane cloud forests
- Part V Cloud forest water use, photosynthesis, and effects of forest conversion
- Part VI Effects of climate variability and climate change
- Part VII Cloud forest conservation, restoration, and management issues
- References
Summary
ABSTRACT
Epiphytic vascular plants and bryophytes constitute an important component of cloud forest canopies. Because of their different characteristics compared with leaves and other tree structural elements, epiphytes can be expected to behave differently in terms of their ability to intercept and store rain and cloud water, whereas losses through evaporation and drip may also occur at different rates. The water dynamics of epiphytes were studied in a windward lower montane cloud forest in northern Costa Rica. The exposed site experienced frequent horizontal precipitation (fog and wind-driven rain) as well as strong winds. In situ epiphyte wetting experiments were conducted at different levels within the 20-m canopy during a series of fog events using pre-weighed branches with known epiphyte biomass, while making simultaneous measurements of fog density and drop-size spectrum on a tower extending above the canopy. Rates of water loss via evaporation from pre-wetted epiphyte-laden branches suspended at different heights within the canopy were determined on dry days. Storage capacities were determined by gravimetric means, both in the field and under controlled conditions. Total epiphyte biomass of the forest was estimated through systematic sampling of three emergent trees and five sub-canopy trees in combination with a diameter survey of four plots of 1000 m2 each. Fog interception rates by epiphyte-laden branches differed with position in the canopy, with an average rate of 54.7 ml hour−1 kg−1 of oven-dry biomass. Absorption rates were correlated with fog liquid water content and initial moisture content of the sample. […]
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- Tropical Montane Cloud ForestsScience for Conservation and Management, pp. 261 - 267Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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