# Throughfall

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Process where wet leaves drop water onto the ground

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Throughfall displacement experiment at [Oak Ridge National Laboratory](/source/Oak_Ridge_National_Laboratory)

[Litterfall](/source/Litterfall) and throughfall collectors at beech stand in Thetford, East Anglia[1]

In [hydrology](/source/Hydrology), **throughfall** is the process which describes how wet leaves shed excess [water](/source/Water) onto the ground surface. These drops have greater erosive power because they are heavier than [rain](/source/Rain) drops. Furthermore, where there is a high canopy, falling drops may reach [terminal velocity](/source/Terminal_velocity), about 8 metres (26 ft), thus maximizing the drop's erosive potential.[2]

Rates of throughfall are higher in areas of [forest](/source/Forest) where the leaves are broad-leaved. This is because the flat leaves allow water to collect. [Drip-tips](/source/Drip-tip) also facilitate throughfall. Rates of throughfall are lower in [coniferous](/source/Coniferous) forests as conifers can only hold individual droplets of water on their needles.

Throughfall is a crucial process when designing pesticides for foliar application since it will condition their washing and the fate of potential pollutants in the environment. [3]

## See also

Main article: [Outline of forestry](/source/Outline_of_forestry)

- [Stemflow](/source/Stemflow)

- [Canopy interception](/source/Interception_(water))

- [Forest floor interception](/source/Forest_floor_interception)

- [Tree shape](/source/Tree_measurement#Tree_shape)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Spatial variations of nitrogen deposition and its effect on forest biochemical processes"](http://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/fr/INFD-75PJ9E). Forest Research. Retrieved March 27, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Stuart, Gordon W.; Edwards, Pamela J. (2006), ["Concepts about Forests and Water"](http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_square/publications/other_publishers/OCR/ne_2006_stuart001.pdf) (PDF), *Northern Journal of Applied Forestry*, **23** (1): 11–19, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/njaf/23.1.11](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fnjaf%2F23.1.11)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Pérez-Rodríguez, P.; Soto-Gómez, D.; López-Periago, J.E.; Paradelo, M. (2015). ["Modeling raindrop strike performance on copper wash-off from vine leaves"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030147971400615X). *Journal of Environmental Management*. **150**: 472–478. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2015JEnvM.150..472P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015JEnvM.150..472P). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.12.036](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jenvman.2014.12.036). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [25560655](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25560655).

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