Contribution of fog deposition to water and nutrient cycling in a subtropical mountain cloud forest

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This is part of a partner proposal to the DFG and the Taiwan National Science Council (NSC). An experimental ecosystem research study close to the Yuan Yang Lake (YYL) site, in the subtropical mountain cloud forest of northern Taiwan at 1650 m a.s.l. is proposed. The applicants aim to study the contribution of fog deposition to the hydrological and nitrogen cycle within a stand of Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana, which is an extraordinarily important cypress species of Taiwan, and which is being regenerated trough forestry activities lately. However, the water and nutrient cycles, and the specific physiology are not nearly understood. The fog frequency at the YYL esosystem research site is high, and fog deposition probably plays a key role in the biogeochemical cycles of the ecosystem. The project consists of two parts, one is a long term (2 years) program to quantify deposition of fog an evapotranspiration of water through model approaches, based on field routine observations. The second component is the development of process understanding through four intensive field experiments, in which the deposition of fog is directly quantified through a micrometeorological experiment. Feedback to the models applied will be an important feature. Extensive preliminary work proves the evidence of the topic and feasibility of the proposed study.