Zhang et al. (2026) A data synthesis and comparative review of rainfall partitioning: Drivers and management implications in fruit crops

Identification

• Journal: Ecological Indicators
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-12
• Authors: Rui Zhang, Yuhao Yang, Hao Liu, Hanyu Zhang, Juan An, Qianjin Liu
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115482

Research Groups

• College of Resources and Environment, Linyi University, China
• Pomology Research Center, Xianyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China

Short Summary

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of rainfall partitioning in fruit crops, including the effects of environmental drivers, plant morphological attributes, and artificial management practices on canopy interception, throughfall, and stemflow.

Objective

• To characterize the absolute amounts and relative ratios of canopy interception (Ic), throughfall (TF), and stemflow (SF) across 13 different fruit crop species.
• To quantify the relative importance of environmental drivers on each rainfall partitioning component.
• To determine the influence of plant morphological attributes and artificial management practices on rainfall partitioning.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with data collected from 24 papers covering 13 experimental sites across various regions.
• Temporal Scale: Short-term to long-term observations, ranging from several individual rainfall events to 24 months of continuous observation.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Boosted regression tree (BRT) model was employed to quantify the effects of influencing factors on TF flux, Ic flux, and SF flux.
• Data sources: Field observations from 24 peer-reviewed papers published in English between January 1995 and January 2025.

Main Results

• The mean per-event Ic, TF, and SF fluxes across all rainfall events were 2.2 ± 0.1 mm, 12.7 ± 0.5 mm, and 0.6 ± 0.0 mm, respectively.
• The BRT model demonstrated strong performance in quantifying the effects of influencing factors on TF flux, with RA, Ws, and Dur being the predominant factors affecting TF flux.
• Plant morphological attributes, such as leaf shedding strategy (evergreen vs. deciduous) and life form (vine, bush, tree), had significant effects on rainfall partitioning components.

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive dataset for rainfall partitioning in fruit crops, advancing our understanding of water management for these crops.
• The results highlight the importance of environmental drivers, plant morphological attributes, and artificial management practices in shaping rainfall partitioning patterns.

Funding

• This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Ministry of Education of China.

Citation

@article{Zhang2026data,
  author = {Zhang, Rui and Yang, Yuhao and Liu, Hao and Zhang, Hanyu and An, Juan and Liu, Qianjin},
  title = {A data synthesis and comparative review of rainfall partitioning: Drivers and management implications in fruit crops},
  journal = {Ecological Indicators},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115482},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115482}
}