Interception (water)

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Interception, or canopy interception, refers to precipitation that does not reach the soil, but is instead intercepted by the leaves and branches of plants. It occurs in the canopy, and in the forest ground litter. Because of evaporation, interception of liquid water leads to loss of that precipitation for the drainage basin. Intercepted snowfall does not result in any notable amount of evaporation, and most of the snow falls off the tree by wind or melt. However, intercepted snow can more easily drift with the wind, out of the watershed. Conifers have greater interception than hardwoods. Their needles gives them more surface area for droplets to adhere to, and they have foliage in spring and fall, therefore interception also depends on the type of vegetation in a wooded area. The precipitation that is intercepted by plant foliage [1] see the water cycle