Rainfall Partitioning And Evapotranspiration Of A Juniper Tree

Abstract

Rainfall partitioning and evapotranspiration were studied upon an individual Juniper tree under an urban tropical climate in Kuala Terengganu. The juniper was selected for its rainfall interception capabilities as a potential to be optimized as landscaping trees for the regulation of urban microclimate and stormwater runoff. A comparative trimmed landscaping juniper and a broadleaf representative mango tree were also studied. Meteorological data and gross rainfall was recorded for a year and observed on how they influence each other. Interception loss partitioned by the planted juniper, trimmed juniper and mango tree were 23.9%, 29.7% and 26.2%, respectively. The junipers produced reasonable throughfall values with low throughfall variability, yielding significant interception losses even for larger storms with short drying period between storms which imply their effectiveness as rainfall interceptors. The broadleaf produced significant negative interception values which was resulted from large throughfall variability and exaggerated throughfall values caused by the funneling effect by broad leaves.