Rainfall interception and distribution patterns of gross precipitation around an isolated Ficus benjamina tree in an urban area

Interception of rainfall by urban trees can be an important component of urban landscapes. This work evaluated rainfall interception and distribution patterns of gross precipitation around the canopy of a single evergreen tree Ficus benjamina (L.). Nineteen individual storms occurring from July to October, 2005, were analyzed. Total precipitation for the studied period was 152 mm representing 46% of the annual precipitation. Rainfall was partitioned as follows: 38.1% throughfall, 2.4% stemflow, and 59.5% interception by the tree canopy. Canopy saturation was estimated at 1.5 mm using a linear relationship between throughfall and stemflow. Average time for saturation of canopy was 19.5 min. The screen effect was important and accounted for 18.7% of the interception losses by the tree canopy alone. A kriging model was used to explore spatial distribution patterns of rainfall and the screen effect around the projected crown. The results indicated that the tree modifies the precipitation pattern around the tree and suggested that these patterns were similar among events.