Interception is the portion of precipitation captured by vegetation, such as leaves and tree canopies. To illustrate, the rain evaporates rather than seeps into the ground. It is an important part of Earth’s and the forest’s water balance. Many short rain showers result in higher interception evaporation than if the same amount of rain fell over a few longer periods.
Literally, ‘interception’ means ‘to intercept’ or ‘to stop’ and is also used in other contexts, like in sport.
Links
Skogen – Interception 
SMHI – Evaporation
Wikipedia – Interception
May 2026, TÄNKOM | Revised August 2026, RETHINK
