The study looked at how rain is caught by trees in a forest on Purple Mountain. They found that the trees caught about a quarter of the rain, while some flowed down the tree trunks and most fell through the leaves. As the rain got heavier, more water was caught by the trees. When it rained less than 50 mm, more water flowed down the tree trunks. The amount of rain caught by the trees increased as the rain got heavier.