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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Reno, Nevada » Great Basin Rangelands Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386256
Research Project: Management and Restoration of Rangeland Ecosystems

Location: Great Basin Rangelands Research

Title: Rainfall interception by mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana): Dryland shrub canopy cover affects net precipitation

Author
item SNYDER, DEVON - University Of Nevada
item STRINGHAM, TAMZEN - University Of Nevada
item Snyder, Keirith

Submitted to: Hydrological Processes
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/24/2021
Publication Date: 1/6/2022
Citation: Snyder, D.K., Stringham, T.K., Snyder, K.A. 2022. Rainfall interception by mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana): Dryland shrub canopy cover affects net precipitation. Hydrological Processes. 36(1). Article e14441. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14441.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14441

Interpretive Summary: Interception of rainfall by plant canopies is a critical component of the water budget. In rangeland systems plant communities are water-limited. This interception term represent a loss of water as intercepted water is evaporated back to the atmosphere. In this study we quantified the interception loss of mountain bug sagebrush using simulated rainfall events on plots of sagebrush. Sagebrush density ranged from 20 -50% an intercepted 18.5 ± 12.4% of simulated precipitation. Interception rates were highest for the high cover class and lowest for the low cover class, indicating that precipitation may be significantly reduced under mature, dense stands of sagebrush. This may have consequences for important forage grasses in these communities.

Technical Abstract: Canopy interception loss is an important component of the water budget for many ecosystems, and may be particularly influential in semi-arid shrublands where water is limiting. In this experiment, we quantified interception loss by mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana) using simulated rainfall events in the field. Various levels of canopy cover and rainfall intensities were tested to measure their effects on net precipitation and interception loss. Additionally, the comparisons were made between three methods of measuring shrub cover to enhance the scalability of results. Stands of sagebrush from 20% to 50% canopy cover intercepted 18.5'±'12.5% of incoming precipitation. Percent interception loss differed by 13.7% between the high and low cover classes, indicating that net precipitation may be significantly reduced under mature, dense stands of sagebrush. Hemispherical photography was a viable method for estimating canopy cover in this vegetation type. Interception loss by sagebrush was 14% lower on average than pinyon and juniper measured in the same watershed. Results from this study quantified the effects of sagebrush canopy on rainfall interception and improved understanding of vegetation dynamics in the sagebrush steppe.