Fog Water and Ecosystem Function: Heterogeneity in a California Redwood Forest

Fog is thought to influence ecological function in coastal forests worldwide, yet few data are available that illuminate the mechanisms underlying this influence. In a California redwood forest we mea-sured water and nitrogen (N) fluxes from hori-zontally moving fog and vertically delivered rain as well as redwood tree function. The spatial hetero-geneity of water and N fluxes, water availability, tree water use, and canopy N processing varied greatly across seasons. Water and N fluxes to soil (annual average of 98 % and 89%, respectively) across the whole forest occurred primarily in the rain season and was relatively even across the whole forest. In contrast, below-canopy flux of fo