Fog water capture in temperate forests

Resumen

Objective: To develop a procedure for estimating fog water capture in temperate forests for three genera Pinus, Abies and Quercus, in locations lacking specialized instrumentation.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Three one hectare plots were established in temperate forest. Seventy-five rain gauges, with a precision of 0.1 mm, were randomly distributed across each plot. To analyze of fog water collection, precipitation events were recorded daily during the rainy season (June-September). From these data, events were selected only if at least one rain gauge showed no precipitation while a minimum volume of water was recorded in the remaining gauges.

Results: The Abies forest captured a total of 4.7 mm of fog water, followed by Quercus 2.89 mm, and Pinus 1.12 mm.

Study Limitations/Implications: The evaluation was to the rainy season, with data recorded on a daily basis. The accessibility challenge was overcome.

Findings/Conclusions: The proposed procedure provides reliable results, enabling the assessment of fog water contribution as an initial strategy when specialized instrumentation is unavailable.