Abstract
Interception loss is an important component in forest hydrological cycles. The aim of this study was to construct a model of interception loss based on field measurements of canopy structure (Plant Area Index : PAI), precipitation measured beneath canopies and gross precipitation in open sites. A tank-model was developed as the interception model and the parameters were estimated from our field observations. It was making good progress that compared model with observation for interception loss, throughfall or stemflow about change of time and model estimates with field observations of when the canopies had dried out. The ratios of precipitation measured beneath canopies to gross precipitation measured in open sites ranged from 66% to 86% in forests of 2.27∼4.44 for PAI. These ratios shows that a forest with a large PAI has a large storage capacity of rainwater. The interception loss model that made for these results was good for reproduction with interception loss, change of time for precipitation measured beneath canopies and time necessary for making the canopy dry. Simulations using the model show, 1) Higher the precipitation intensity, lesser the effect of meteorological condition on the interception loss is. 2) When the precipitation intensity increase, the effect of PAI on the interception loss become small.
