Throughfall and stemflow on silverleaf ironbark (<i>Eucalyptus melanophloia</i>) trees

Abstract

Abstract The redistribution of rainfall on silverleaf ironbark ( Eucalyptus melanophloia ) trees in a semiarid environment at Narayen Research Station has been studied using detailed measurements on four trees. Interception accounts for about 11% of the annual rainfall with only 0.6% as stem flow; canopy storage capacity is estimated to be 2 mm and an estimate of the rain required to initiate stem flow is 7 mm. With the exception of nitrogen, the amounts of major elements returned to the soil surface beneath the tree canopy via through fall and stem flow is of the same order as that added by litter fall.