To improve our understanding of rainfall redistribution and associated chemical alterations through the canopy and bark in montane cloud forests, we measured rainfall and ionic concentrations in open areas, in throughfall, and in stemflow in stands of primitive and secondary forests, and a coniferous plantation in the Guanwu area of north-central Taiwan. During the study period from March 2012 to July 2013, 54 rainfall events in total were sampled. Apparent rainfall interception by canopies exhibited a linear positive relation with rainfall size in sampled events with < 98 mm of rainfall. However, during heavy rainfall events (> 98 mm), negative correlations between apparent interception and rainfall amounts was found, probably resulting from additional hydrological inputs from fog precipitation producing low and negative apparent rainfall interception. Among the 3 forest types examined, the primitive forest had the largest interception loss (11.1%), followed by the coniferous plantation (8.1%), and the lowest interception loss (7.3%) and the largest throughfall ratio (91.2%) were in the secondary forest. The volume-weighted mean pH of gross precipitation was 5.01, and it increased as the rain passed through the tree canopy and bark as throughfall and stemflow in primitive and secondary forests. In the plantation, throughfall had a significantly higher pH value, but stemflow had a significantly lower pH value than precipitation. The annual net flux of H+ was negative in the 3 types of forest, indicating that they could neutralize the incoming acids from the atmosphere, and the buffering capacity was larger in the primitive and secondary forests than in the plantation. Our study presents evidence that the high level of annual input of inorganic N (21.2 kg N ha-1 yr-1) and sulfate (15.1 kg S ha-1 yr-1) in montane cloud forest ecosystems, and shows the need to clarify its potential impacts on environmentally sensitive species living in these habitats.