Rainfall interception loss as a function of leaf area index and rainfall by soybean

Canopy interception affects the effective rainfall for plant growth. Extensive studies of canopy interception have focused on trees, but few on crops, due to the longer canopy duration of trees. However, overlooking the canopy rainfall interception results in an overestimate of effective water for crop growth and development. It is still unclear how crop canopy interception is influenced. In this study we examined the effect of leaf area index (LAI) and rainfall characteristics on soybean canopy interception. The results showed that the LAI, rainfall intensity and rainfall duration were the most relevant factors affecting canopy interception. The relationship between canopy interception and LAI was expressed by a linear function, as well as the relationship between canopy interception and rainfall amount. We proposed a canopy interception model versus LAI and rainfall characteristics to simulated the water loss by canopy interception. The results indicated that canopy interception loss increased with bigger LAI and decreased with rainfall amount increasing, indicating that canopy interception can't be ignored in the crop production, especially with small LAI and high precipitation.