A Global Synthesis of Multi‐Factors Affecting Water Storage Capacity in Forest Canopy, Litter and Soil Layers

Abstract

Water storage capacity of forest ecosystems related to water regulation services (WSCFE) refers to the redistribution, reuse, and recycling of precipitation through three vertical layers: canopy (Aydin et al., 2018), litter (Zagyvai-Kiss et al., 2019), and soil (Olarieta et al., 2017). Water regulation, which is related to the hydrological cycle, water flow maintenance, and flood protection, is one of the important ecosystem services (Ouyang et al., 2016). Specifically, the water regulation function includes maintaining humidity in the canopy layer, avoiding direct erosion of soil by precipitation in the litter layer, and regulating flood, runoff and water storage in the soil layer. For example, the North American forest-covered regions (Duan et al., 2016;Hallema et al., 2018) and South American rainforests (Jones et al., 2017) generate and recycle over 50% of water consumed to maintain ecosystem function and integrity, and part of this water is used for evapotranspiration. Although several studies have considered water flux based on water balance (Milly, 1994;Willmott et al., 1985), the spatial pattern of WSCFE and the factors controlling WSCFE have not been fully investigated at the global scale.Due to the high monetary and labor costs required for long-term observations as well as the absence of open observed data (Rodell et al., 2018), WSCFE is difficult to assess using field measurements on a global scale. Some ecosystem service models such as the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs and Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services models can be used to simulate WSCFE globally; however, the simulation results have not typically been validated on a large scale with observation data. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission tracked groundwater depletion, reservoir changes, surface water, and

Tree species composition affects litter eco‐hydrological function in Pinus massoniana conifer‐broadleaf mixed forest stands in southwest China

“…Litter mass is an important factor affecting the rainfall interception capacity of the litter layer, and the water storage capacity of the litter layer increases with increasing litter mass (Sato et al, 2004; William & Ian, 1996; Zhu et al, 2021). Litter characteristics, climatic factors, forest attributes and terrain factors were the dominant influencing factors (explaining 78% of the variation) on the water storage capacity of the forest ecosystem litter layers (Liu et al, 2023). The degree of litter decomposition is also an important factor affecting LWHC, and the higher the degree of litter decomposition, the higher the LWHC (Anna et al, 2015; Su & Liu, 2022; Zhang et al, 2022; Zhou et al, 2018).…”

“…The hydrological function of forest ecosystems refers to the redistribution and reuse of precipitation through the forest canopy, litter, and soil layers (Cano‐Arboleda et al, 2022; Du et al, 2019; Liu et al, 2023; Sun et al, 2018). Litter is formed by tree leaves, branches, flowers, fruits and animal dung (Da Silva et al, 2018; Luara et al, 2022) and is the surface cover layer of the hydrological function on the vertical structure of forest ecosystems, which plays a non‐negligible role in the forests hydrological function (Lv et al, 2020).…”

Estimating canopy cover using a Spatially Balanced Sampling approach: A case study of miombo woodlands in Western Tanzania

“…Shirima et al, 2015), nutrient cycling, and water retention (cf. Guerrieri et al, 2021 andLiu et al, 2023). The adverse impacts of climate change on the functionality of the miombo ecosystem pose a signi cant threat to the livelihoods of those depending on miombo woodlands.…”