EGU22-12591, updated on 28 Mar 2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12591
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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

Glenda Garcia-Santos1, Nikolaus Obojes2, and Leonardo Montagnani3,4
Glenda Garcia-Santos et al.
  • 1University of Klagenfurt, Geography, Klagenfurt, Austria (glenda.garciasantos@aau.at)
  • 2EURAC Research, Via Druso 1, I-39100, Bozen, Italy
  • 3Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 1, I-39100, Bozen, Italy
  • 4Forest Services, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, I-39100, Bozen, Italy

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.

How to cite: Garcia-Santos, G., Obojes, N., and Montagnani, L.: New insights in the understanding of the water balance in a subalpine forest in the Alps, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-12591, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12591, 2022.