New insights in the understanding of the water balance in a subalpine forest in the Alps

Subalpine forests in the Alps are fragile ecosystems with high importance for human water resources and the local and mesoscale climate. While previous studies have measured different components of the water balance, little is known about the partition of all the water components during the same period and the role of forest age. We were able to measure the water balance components and will show how water distributed in the forest. Some highlights of our study are the evidences that canopies of old forests were able to intercept water in larger extend than the young forest canopies, representing the largest water reservoir, the frequency of fog during the study period, shown for the first-time in this ecosystem, the larger ratio of throughfall related to precipitation during days with mixed precipitation (fog and rainfall) and the role of epiphytes in the water balance.