Comparative study of water balance components in a native forest and a meadow in southern Chile

Abstract

A comparative study of water balance was conducted in a roble-olivillo forest and a natural meadow in southern Chile. We analysed the different components of precipitation redistribution, evapotranspiration, percolation and changes in soil water content until 3 m of depth. As related to a total precipitation of 3,024 mm, evapotranspiration and percolation were 13% and 87% for the meadow, and 33% and 66% for the forest respectively. Soil water reserves varied down to 300 cm of depth in the soil of the forest while in the meadow this situation was recorded only to a depth of 1 m. It can be concluded that higher water consumption in the forest and higher percolation water in the meadow were ascribed mainly to the difference in development of both root systems and the canopy characteristic of each of these vegetation covers.