Abstract
Based on rainfall, interception, runoff, evapotranspiration, capillary contribution, deep percolation and soil moisture storage in 1.5 m profile, water balance of three forest species namely, Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo and Leucaena leucocephala was estimated for the months during 2003-04, in their initial growth stage in fragile Shivalik foothill of Haryana. All these species survived well with 80-100 per cent survival rate. It has been found that all the three species extracted moisture up to 90 cm depth in initial 2-3 years of growth. Deep percolation losses from 1.5 m profile were significant during monsoon due to high incident of rainfall and high saturated hydraulic conductivity of light textured soil in that area. However, considerable capillary upward movement was noticed during summer. Dalbergia sissoo profiles hold more moisture than other two species.
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