Rainfall distribution around shrubs: Eco-geomorphic implications for arid hillslopes

A single shrub in a widely spaced shrubby area acts as a roughness element and, therefore, it can affect the distribution of the rainfall received on the ground surface surrounding it. This paper focuses on such rainfall distribution on arid hillslopes and its eco-geomorphic implications. Relatively simple methods were used to measure the rainfall around shrubs growing in a small basin that is associated with a prevailing wind direction during rain events. There was a trend toward significantly reduced rainfall onto bare soil areas located on the leeward side, compared with that on other bare soil areas along the hillslope. This may alert to another potential cause for patchiness in the hydrological response of arid hillslope systems.