scholarly journals Physical structure and biological composition of canopies in tropical secondary and old-growth forests

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256571
Author(s):  
David B. Clark ◽  
Steven F. Oberbauer ◽  
Deborah A. Clark ◽  
Michael G. Ryan ◽  
Ralph O. Dubayah
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Canopy Height ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Free Air ◽  
Leaf Density ◽  
Patch Scale

The area of tropical secondary forests is increasing rapidly, but data on the physical and biological structure of the canopies of these forests are limited. To obtain such data and to measure the ontogeny of canopy structure during tropical rainforest succession, we studied patch-scale (5 m2) canopy structure in three areas of 18–36 year-old secondary forest in Costa Rica, and compared the results to data from old-growth forest at the same site. All stands were sampled with a stratified random design with complete harvest from ground level to the top of the canopy from a modular portable tower. All canopies were organized into distinct high- and low-leaf-density layers (strata), and multiple strata developed quickly with increasing patch height. The relation of total Leaf Area Index (LAI, leaf area per area of ground) to patch canopy height, the existence of distinct high and low leaf- density layers (strata and free air spaces), the depth and LAI of the canopy strata and free air spaces, and the relation of the number of strata to patch canopy height were remarkably constant across the entire successional gradient. Trees were the most important contributor to LAI at all stages, while contribution of palm LAI increased through succession. We hypothesize that canopy physical structure at the patch scale is driven by light competition and discuss how this hypothesis could be tested. That canopy physical structure was relatively independent of the identity of the species present suggests that canopy physical structure may be conserved even as canopy floristics shift due to changing climate.

scholarly journals Large eddy simulations of surface roughness parameter sensitivity to canopy-structure characteristics

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 16349-16389
Author(s):  
K. D. Maurer ◽  
G. Bohrer ◽  
V. Y. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Surface Roughness ◽  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Canopy Height ◽  
Roughness Parameters ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Gap Fraction ◽  
Large Eddy

Abstract. Surface roughness parameters are at the core of every model representation of the coupling and interactions between land-surface and atmosphere, and are used in every model of surface fluxes. However, most models assume these parameters to be a fixed property of plant functional type and do not vary them in response to spatial or temporal changes to canopy structure. In part, this is due to the difficulty of reducing the complexity of canopy structure and its spatiotemporal dynamic and heterogeneity to less than a handful of parameters describing its effects of atmosphere–surface interactions. In this study we use large-eddy simulations to explore, in silico, the effects of canopy structure characteristics on surface roughness parameters. We performed a virtual experiment to test the sensitivity of resolved surface roughness to four axes of canopy structure: (1) leaf area index, (2) the vertical profile of leaf density, (3) canopy height, and (4) canopy gap fraction. We found roughness parameters to be highly variable, but were able to find positive relationships between displacement height and maximum canopy height, aerodynamic canopy height and maximum canopy height and leaf area index, and eddy-penetration depth and gap fraction. We also found negative relationships between aerodynamic canopy height and gap fraction, and between eddy-penetration depth and maximum canopy height and leaf area index. Using a decade of wind and canopy structure observations in a site in Michigan, we tested the effectiveness of our model-resolved parameters in predicting the frictional velocity over heterogeneous and disturbed canopies. We compared it with three other semi-empirical models and with a decade of meteorological observations. We found that parameterizations with fixed representations of roughness performed relatively well. Nonetheless, some empirical approaches that incorporate seasonal and inter-annual changes to the canopy structure performed even better than models with temporally fixed parameters.

scholarly journals Large-eddy simulations of surface roughness parameter sensitivity to canopy-structure characteristics

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2533-2548 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. Maurer ◽  
G. Bohrer ◽  
W. T. Kenny ◽  
V. Y. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Surface Roughness ◽  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Roughness Length ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Canopy Height ◽  
Roughness Parameters ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Displacement Height ◽  
Gap Fraction

Abstract. Surface roughness parameters, namely the roughness length and displacement height, are an integral input used to model surface fluxes. However, most models assume these parameters to be a fixed property of plant functional type and disregard the governing structural heterogeneity and dynamics. In this study, we use large-eddy simulations to explore, in silico, the effects of canopy-structure characteristics on surface roughness parameters. We performed a virtual experiment to test the sensitivity of resolved surface roughness to four axes of canopy structure: (1) leaf area index, (2) the vertical profile of leaf density, (3) canopy height, and (4) canopy gap fraction. We found roughness parameters to be highly variable, but uncovered positive relationships between displacement height and maximum canopy height, aerodynamic canopy height and maximum canopy height and leaf area index, and eddy-penetration depth and gap fraction. We also found negative relationships between aerodynamic canopy height and gap fraction, as well as between eddy-penetration depth and maximum canopy height and leaf area index. We generalized our model results into a virtual "biometric" parameterization that relates roughness length and displacement height to canopy height, leaf area index, and gap fraction. Using a decade of wind and canopy-structure observations in a site in Michigan, we tested the effectiveness of our model-driven biometric parameterization approach in predicting the friction velocity over heterogeneous and disturbed canopies. We compared the accuracy of these predictions with the friction-velocity predictions obtained from the common simple approximation related to canopy height, the values calculated with large-eddy simulations of the explicit canopy structure as measured by airborne and ground-based lidar, two other parameterization approaches that utilize varying canopy-structure inputs, and the annual and decadal means of the surface roughness parameters at the site from meteorological observations. We found that the classical representation of constant roughness parameters (in space and time) as a fraction of canopy height performed relatively well. Nonetheless, of the approaches we tested, most of the empirical approaches that incorporate seasonal and interannual variation of roughness length and displacement height as a function of the dynamics of canopy structure produced more precise and less biased estimates for friction velocity than models with temporally invariable parameters.

Comparison of Methods of Estimating Leaf-Area Index In Old-Growth Douglas-Fir

Ecology ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 975-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Marshall ◽  
R. H. Waring
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Comparison Of Methods ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Area Index

scholarly journals The effect of light availability on leaf area index, biomass production and plant species composition of park grasslands in Warsaw  

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 12) ◽  
pp. 543-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Dąbrowski ◽  
B. Pawluśkiewicz ◽  
Kalaji HM ◽  
Baczewska AH
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Light Conditions ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Sward Height ◽  
Poa Trivialis ◽  
Leaf Density

How light conditions affect development of park grasslands is a question that has not been satisfactory addressed. The aim of this study was therefore determination of the level to which unfavorable light conditions influence grassy parks area and relationships between parameters which determine state of turf grasses. Researches were conducted in two parks in Warsaw, in various light conditions and included measurement of: leaf density, sward height, leaf area index (LAI), and botanical composition of the communities. The leaf density of shaded areas did not exceed 70%. LAI value varied from 0.5 to 0.9-fold lower than in the areas in half-shade and in sun. The participation of basic lawn species at Skaryszewski Park was higher under shade, while at Łazienki Królewskie was higher in full-sunlight areas. The state of tested grassy areas in limited solar radiation does not satisfy the requirements of recreational and representational functions. The development processes of vegetation coverage were inhibited at the sites of lower solar radiation. LAI was influenced by both leaf coverage and sward height. Agrostis stolonifera and Poa trivialis may be recommended to create grass areas under limited solar radiation.

Influence of canopy structure on the understory environment in tall, old-growth, conifer forests

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1231-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Van Pelt ◽  
Jerry F Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Horizontal Distribution ◽  
Shrub Cover ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Light Levels ◽  
Vertical Heterogeneity ◽  
Canopy Volume ◽  
Old Growth Forests

The effect of the spatial distribution of trees and foliage on understory conditions was examined in six tall old-growth forests along the Pacific Coast: two sites each in Washington, Oregon, and California. Detailed field measurements of crown parameters were collected on over 9000 trees encompassing over 14.5 ha in the stands. Crown parameters were used to construct a spatially explicit model useful in analyzing the variability of crown distributions in both vertical and horizontal dimensions. Sapwood measurements of over 400 trees in combination with published equations and 240 hemispherical photos were used to assess leaf area and understory light levels, respectively. Shrub and herb cover was used as a biological indicator of growing conditions in the understory. Although leaf area is often assumed to be correlated with the amount of light penetrating the canopy, this is not the case in tall, old-growth forests. The semivariance of the horizontal distribution of canopy volume was strongly correlated with shrub cover and understory light levels and was an overall predictor of canopy structure. This variability gives rise to potentially higher understory light levels and shrub cover values when compared with a forest lacking this vertical heterogeneity and may allow the stand to support a higher volume of foliage.

Canopy openness and leaf area in chronosequences of coastal temperate rainforests

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon W Frazer ◽  
J A Trofymow ◽  
Kenneth P Lertzman
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Canopy Openness ◽  
East Side ◽  
The West ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Forest Canopies ◽  
Old Growth Forest

We examined spatial and temporal differences in canopy openness and effective leaf area (Le) in a series of eight forest chronosequences located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Structural attributes were measured on the west and east side of the island in immature, mature, and old-growth stands using hemispherical photography and the LAI-2000 plant canopy analyzer (PCA). Old-growth forest canopies were distinct from those of younger stands: they were more open, more heterogeneous in their openness, and maintained a lower stand Le. Although the overall developmental trajectories of forests were similar across the study sites, site-to-site differences in the rate and magnitude of these temporal changes indicated that site-specific factors also play a significant role in determining the character of forest canopies and their development. The most significant changes in canopy structure did not emerge until the later stages of stand development (150-200 years). Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) dominated east-side forests were, on average, more open, more heterogeneous, and had a lower stand Le than the stands dominated by western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) and western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn.) forming the west-side chronosequences. Shoot clumping, along with other evidence, suggested that species-related differences in leaf display and the geometry of branching structure might have contributed significantly to these regional patterns.

scholarly journals Shading, Growth, and Dry-matter Partitioning of Cocoyam [Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott]

1991 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 1117-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector R. Valenzuela ◽  
Stephen K. O'Hair ◽  
Bruce Schaffer
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Linear Equations ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Leaf Lamina ◽  
Dry Matter Partitioning ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Xanthosoma Sagittifolium ◽  
Leaf Density ◽  
Net Assimilation ◽  
Effect Of Light

Cocoyam was grown in 100%, 50%, or 30% daylight to determine the effect of light intensity on growth characteristics at various stages of plant development. Beginning ≈ 2 months after planting, growth was monitored at three or four monthly intervals. Plants grown in shade had more petiole and leaf lamina growth and extension, as well as increased top: corm plus cormel ratio (dry-weight basis), than plants grown in 100% daylight. Shade-grown plants had a higher leaf area index and specific leaf area than sun-grown plants. Sun-grown plants had a higher net assimilation rate and specific leaf density than shade-grown plants. Linear equations were developed to predict lamina area through measurements of leaf lamina width and length, petiole length, and lamina dry weight.

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