PARTITIONING OF RAINFALL IN A COCOA (THEOBROMA-CACAO LOUR) PLANTATION

To consolidate knowledge of some aspects of the partitioning of incide nt rainfall into throughfall, stemflow and interception loss, a study was made in a typical cocoa (Theobroma cacao Lour.) plantation in sout h-east Bahia, Brazil. The samples were collected. on a per shower basi s, from locations at different levels in the canopy over a period of t wo and a half years. During the period studied. of the amount of incid ent rainfall reaching the cocoa plantation, on average 16% was retaine d by shelter trees, 19% by cocoa trees and 9% by the ground litter. Lo sses due to interception caused some variations and were mainly regula ted by temporal variations and by the amount and intensity of rainfall in the plantation. The amount of rainfall intercepted, as determined in this study, is comparable with other tropical stands, but important differences do exist and are believed to be influenced by the previou s level of moisture availability within the cocoa plantation.