Dew, fog, and rain interception

We are interested in the effects of dew, fog, and rain interception on soil moisture and plant functioning: how does the proportion of plant water coming from dew, fog, or rain vary throughout the season in different ecosystems? How much water can leaves retain on their surface? How does leaf wetness affect transpiration and photosynthesis? We are currently studying these issues at the Point Reyes Field Station in California.

Relevant publications

  1. C. Gerlein-Safdi, 2021, Seeing dew deposition from satellites: leveraging microwave remote sensing for the study of water dynamics in and on plants, New Phytologist, 231, 5–7, doi: 10.1111/nph.17418

  2. C. Gerlein-Safdi, M.C. Koohafkan, M. Chung, F.E. Rockwell, S. Thompson, and K.K. Caylor, 2018. Dew deposition suppresses transpiration and carbon uptake in leaves, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 259, 305–316, doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.05.015

  3. C. Gerlein-Safdi, P.P.G. Gauthier, and K.K. Caylor, 2018. Dew-induced transpiration suppression impacts the water and isotope balances of Colocasia leaves, Oecologia, 187:4, 1041-1051, doi: 10.1007/s00442-018-4199-y

  4. C. Wright, A. Kagawa-Viviani, C. Gerlein-Safdi, G. Mosquera, M. Poca, H. Tseng, and K.P. Chun, 2017. Advancing ecohydrology in the changing tropics: Perspectives from early career scientists, Ecohydrology, 106:17, e1918, doi: 10.1002/eco.1918

  5. C. Gerlein-Safdi, P.P.G. Gauthier, C.J. Sinkler, and K.K. Caylor, 2017. Leaf water 18O and 2H maps show directional enrichment discrepancy in Colocasia esculenta, Plant, Cell and Environment, 40, 2095–2108, doi: 10.1111/pce.13002