This study aims at determining the chlorine and chlorine-36 fallout rates in an experimental beech forest site located in NE France (48 degrees 31'55 `' N, 5 degrees 16'8 `' E). A monthly record of Cl and Cl-36 concentrations in rainfall samples collected above the canopy was performed during two years, from March 2012 to February 2014. The results show that the Cl concentrations mainly originate from sea-spray while the Cl-36 concentrations originate from the stratosphere and therefore present a seasonal dependency. Abrupt and important inputs of Cl-36 from the stratosphere indeed yield sharp increases of the recorded concentrations during the spring-summer. We also show that a too short sampling period might bias the determined Cl-36 fallout rate. To smooth the seasonal and sporadic bursts of Cl-36, a minimum of 6 months sampling period is required. A mean Cl-36 fallout rate of (77 +/- 21) atoms m(-2) S-1 can be deduced from our study, which is 45% higher than the modelled value. This discrepancy suggests more studies aiming at measuring the Cl-36 fallout rate worldwide are necessary. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.