Vertical leaf area distribution, light transmittance, and application of the Beer–Lambert Law in four mature hardwood stands in the southern Appalachians

We quantified stand leaf area index and vertical leaf area distribution, and developed canopy extinction coefficients (k), in four mature hardwood stands. Leaf area index, calculated from litter fall and specific leaf area (c2•g−1), ranged from 4.3 to 5.4 m2•m−2. In three of the four stands, leaf area was distributed in the upper canopy. In the other stand, leaf area was uniformly distributed throughout the canopy. Variation in vertical leaf area distribution was related to the size and density of upper and lower canopy trees. Light transmittance through the canopies followed the Beer–Lambert Law, and k values ranged from 0.53 to 0.67. Application of these k values to an independent set of five hardwood stands with validation data for light transmittance and litter-fall leaf area index yielded variable results. For example, at k = 0.53, calculated leaf area index was within ± 10% of litter-fall estimates for three of the five sites, but from −35 to + 85% different for two other sites. Averaged across all validation sites, litter-fall leaf area index and Beer-Lambert leaf area index predictions were in much closer agreement ( ± 7 to ± 15%).