Fog drip and its relation to groundwater in the tropical seasonal rain forest of Xishuangbanna, Southwest China: a preliminary study.

Rain, fog drip, shallow soil water and groundwater were collected for two years (2002-2003) for stable isotopic analysis, at a tropical seasonal rain forest site in Xshuangbanna, Southwest China. The fog drip water ranged from -30 to +27 per thousand in deltaD and -6.2 to +1.9 per thousand in delta(18)O, conforms to the equation deltaD=7.64delta(18)O+14.32, and was thought to contain water that has been evaporated and recycled terrestrial meteoric water. The rain was isotopically more depleted, and ranged from -94 to -45 per thousand in deltaD, and -13.2 to -6.8 per thousand in delta(18)O. The shallow soil water had a composition usually between those of the rain and fog drip, and was assumed to be a mixture of the two waters. However, the soil water collected in dry season appeared to contain more fog drip water than that collected in rainy season. The groundwater in both seasons had an isotopic composition similar to rainwater, suggesting that fog drip water does not play a significant role as a source of recharge for the groundwater. This groundwater was thought to be recharged solely by rainwater.