-We aimed to evaluate the net precipitation and rainfall interception in a fragment of semideciduous forest at both early and advanced stages of regeneration in Viçosa city, Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, from January 2012 through July 2013. Six plots were stablished, three in each regeneration stage area. For throughfall and stemflow quantification, 25 rain gauges and collectors were installed in trees having circumference higher than 15 cm, in each plot. An additional rain gauge was installed in an open area to quantify gross precipitation. Gross precipitation in the studied period was 1934 mm. On average, 79.3% and 72.6% of gross precipitation reached the soil via net precipitation in the areas at early and advanced regeneration stages, respectively. Rainfall interception by the forest canopy was higher in the advanced-regeneration area, corresponding to 25.8% of gross precipitation. In the early-regeneration area, on the other hand, rainfall interception accounted for 20.2% of gross precipitation. This suggests that more densely populated areas intercept more rainfall, and consequently have lower net precipitation. Thus, our study shows that rainwater distribution in forest environments changes according to their regeneration status. The replacement of species at different successional stages renders the water to follow different pathways, such as interception, stemflow, and throughfall. This information helps us understand that the succession process can be slow, yet it is the natural way of forest regeneration.Keywords: Forest hydrology; Watershed management; Interception. PRECIPITAÇÃO EFETIVA EM UM FRAGMENTO FLORESTAL ESTACIONAL SEMIDECIDUAL, VIÇOSA, MGRESUMO -Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a precipitação efetiva e a interceptação da chuva em um fragmento de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual em estágio inicial e avançado de regeneração no Município de Viçosa, Minas Gerais, no período de janeiro de 2012 a julho de 2013. Foram demarcadas seis parcelas, três na área de regeneração inicial e três na área de regeneração avançada. Para quantificar a precipitação interna e o escoamento pelo tronco, foram instalados 25 pluviômetros em cada parcela e coletores nas árvores com circunferência > 15 cm. Além disso, um pluviômetro foi instalado em local aberto para quantificar a precipitação em aberto, que no período estudado foi igual a 1934 mm . Em média, 79,3% e 72,6% da precipitação em aberto, respectivamente, no estágio inicial e avançado de regeneração, chegam ao solo via precipitação efetiva. A interceptação pelo dossel florestal foi maior na área avançada do que na área inicial de regeneração, correspondendo, respectivamente, a 25,8% e 20,2% da precipitação em aberto, o que sugere que áreas mais densamente povoadas interceptam maior quantidade de chuva e, consequentemente, geram menor precipitação efetiva. Este estudo mostra então que a distribuição da água de chuva na floresta se modifica à medida que ela avança em regeneração. A substituição de espécies, em diferentes estágios 794

Forest cover is of great importance in the context of water balance and may alter the mechanism of water absorption into the soil surface. The aim of this study was to evaluate the throughfall, stemflow, and surface runoff compared to rainfall in a fragment of the Atlantic Rainforest. Rainfall was measured through a rain gauge and a pluviograph installed on a tower above the forest canopy. To quantify the throughfall, six plots of 20 x20 m were laid, with 25 pluviometers five meters spaced from each other, for each plot. To measure the stemflow, collectors were adapted on the tree trunks having ≥ 15 cm circumference. For the runoff estimate, three plots were established with areas of 13.71 m², 14.79 m² and 14.86 m². The plots were demarcated with galvanized iron sheets. Based on the results, it can be concluded that forests play an important role in the hydrological cycle: from the total precipitation (1182.6 mm), one portion is intercepted by the tree canopy and evaporated back into the atmosphere; another portion (958.1 mm) corresponding to 81% of the total precipitation, passes through the canopy and hits the ground. The stemflow was 10.8 mm, corresponding to 0.9 % of the total rainfall. The runoff was 15.5 mm, which corresponds to 1.3% of the rainfall. The vegetation has an important role in reducing the runoff volume on the soil surface

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