Deposition pattern of precipitation and throughfall in a subtropical evergreen forest in south-central China

The effects of dry deposition, canopy leaching, precipitation ion concentration, and precipitation H⁺ concentration on net throughfall flux (NTF, throughfall minus bulk precipitation) were evaluated on a seasonal basis by using a multiple regression analysis approach based on an observation period of 4 years in Shaoshan subtropical mixed evergreen forest, south-central China. Regression analysis results indicated that the estimated canopy exchange flux was the dominant factor regulating the NTF and the calculated dry deposition was a minor term. The seasonal dry deposition of base cations accounted for 15%–43% of the NTF. The NTF analysis showed that K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, and weak acids in throughfall were derived from foliar leaching and the canopy uptakes of H⁺, NH₄ ⁺, and NO₃ ⁻ were from precipitation. The retention rate of proton (H⁺ and NH₄ ⁺) in the canopy was close to the canopy leaching rate of base cations when corrected for weak acids because weak acid-induced canopy leaching did not exchange with protons, which suggested that the canopy leaching processes neutralized acid precipitation in Shaoshan forest.