Knuckles cloud forest occult precipitation: fog harvesting and epiphyte sponge dynamics?

The high-elevation ridges of the Knuckles massif (Riverston and Corbett's Gap above 1,200m) experience "occult precipitation" (fog drip). Dense, low-hanging cloud banks pushed by monsoonal trade winds sweep across the mountain crests. The twisted, stunted canopy of pygmy trees (Syzygium and Calophyllum) and their thick coatings of epiphytic bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) act as physical cloud filters. Epiphytes capture microscopic airborne water droplets, coalescing them into heavy drips that fall to the forest floor. Studies indicate that horizontal fog drip adds up to 30% more water to the watershed than recorded by standard vertical rain gauges, sustaining dry-zone rivers.