PARTITIONING OF RAINFALL IN A EUCALYPT FOREST AND PINE PLANTATION IN SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA .3. DETERMINATION OF THE CANOPY STORAGE CAPACITY OF A DRY SCLEROPHYLL EUCALYPT FOREST

The canopy storage capacity of a dry sclerophyll eucalypt forest was determined. This required destructive sampling of three major species of trees and development of a water soakage method for the measurement of water holding capacity of all above ground components. The influence of antecedent weather conditions on canopy storage capacity was assessed. It was shown that the interactive effects of leaf area and water holding capacity of all tree components were such that the estimated canopy storage capacity (0‐39 mm) was likely to change little except under extreme conditions of drought and rainfall. The effect of species composition on forest canopy storage capacity is also presented. The wetting processes are described and compared with those discussed in other studies. They are shown to be relevant to the estimation of canopy storage capacity in almost any forest. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd