Rainfall interception and reduced surface runoff through street tree planting
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/rf.v56i1.101784Keywords:
Flooding, Urban forest, Hydrological regulation, Ecosystem servicesAbstract
Urban trees have the ability to intercept rainfall through their leaves, branches, and trunks, delaying peak runoff and reducing surface runoff. In this context, this study aimed to estimate the hydrological regulation potential of urban trees in the Graças neighborhood, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, using the i-Tree platform to quantify rainfall interception and avoided surface runoff. An urban forest inventory was conducted following the data collection protocols and guidelines established by the platform. The analyzed variables included species, crown health, diameter at breast height (DBH) classes, light exposure, percentage of crown missing, land-use characteristics, live crown height, and crown area. A total of 137 trees were assessed, which intercepted 1,739.8 m³ of rainfall and avoided 355.1 m³ of surface runoff. The interception and avoided runoff values were directly related to species characteristics, leaf size, crown area, crown volume and health, and phenological patterns. Consequently, streets with healthier trees and greater crown area and volume tend to present higher hydrological regulation capacity. The volume of water retained by urban trees contributes to mitigating the negative effects of rainfall on public roads by reducing runoff flow. The results reinforce the importance of ecosystem services provided by urban trees, and the outputs generated by the i-Tree program can support urban planning and the management of urban forests.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Everaldo Marques de Lima Neto, Bianka Luise de Oliveira, Ricardo Cordeiro de Lima, Maria Neide Moura Martins de Andrade
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