Spatiotemporal Variations in Vegetation Canopy Interception in China Based on a Revised Gash Model

Vegetation canopy interception (Ic) of precipitation is a considerable component of the global hydrological cycles. Although the measurement and modeling of canopy interception have been explored worldwide at the individual, stand or ecosystem scale, it is still unclear how to recognize this process at the regional or global scales within the context of global climate change. In this study, a revised Gash model was employed to estimate canopy interception based on remote sensing and meteorological data. The spatial and temporal variations in Ic were investigated and the main environmental factors were explored in China for the 2000–2018 period. The results showed that the revised Gash model performed well in modeling canopy interception at the regional scale compared with the PML_V2 dataset product and the in-situ measurements. The average annual Ic in China from 2000 to 2018 was 166.55 mm, with a significant decreasing spatial pattern from the Southeastern to the Northwestern regions. The ratio of canopy interception to precipitation (Ir) displayed a similar spatial pattern, with an average value of 22.30%. At the temporal scale, the mean annual Ic significantly increased at a rate of 1.79 mm yr−1 (p < 0.01) during the study period, and the increasing trend was more pronounced during the 2000–2009 period, at a rate of 3.34 mm yr−1 (p < 0.01). In most vegetation types, except for the deciduous broad-leaved forest and temperate desert, canopy interception showed a significant increasing trend (p < 0.01). Precipitation, temperature, and the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) were considered to be the main factors affecting the variations of Ic in China during the last two decades, with specific dominant factors varying in different areas. Specifically, precipitation was considered to control the variations of Ic in the Northwestern regions, temperature mainly influenced the Southern regions, and the NDVI was identified as the main factor in regions where significant ecological conservation projects are established, such as the Loess Plateau. Our findings are expected to not only contribute to the understanding of regional ecohydrological cycle but also provide valuable insights into the methodology of interception modeling at the regional and global scales.