This article presents snow hydrology updates made to iTree-Hydro, previously called the Urban Forest Effects—Hydrology model. iTree-Hydro Version 1 was a warm climate model developed by the USDA Forest Service to provide a process-based planning tool with robust water quantity and quality predictions given data limitations common to most urban areas. Cold climate hydrology routines presented in...

Since the introduction of the cosmic-ray neutron method for soil moisture estimation, numerous studies have been conducted to test and advance the accuracy of the method. Almost 200 stationary neutron detector systems have been installed worldwide, and roving systems have also started to gain ground. The intensity of low-energy neutrons produced by cosmic rays, measured above the ground surface...

Soybean canopy outline is an important trait used to understand light interception ability, canopy closure rates, row spacing response, which in turn affects crop growth and yield, and directly impacts weed species germination and emergence. In this manuscript, we utilize a methodology that constructs geometric measures of the soybean canopy outline from digital images of canopies, allowing vis...

We present an operational method for estimating the amount of PAR intercepted by a coniferous shoot. Interception of PAR by a shoot is divided into three components: the amount of radiation coming from the sky, the transmission of radiation through the surrounding vegetation, and the shoot' s silhouette area facing the direction of the incoming radiation. All three components usually vary with ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Light interception is a key factor driving the functioning of wheat-pea intercrops. The sharing of light is related to the canopy structure, which results from the architectural parameters of the mixed species. In the present study, we characterized six contrasting pea genotypes and identified architectural parameters whose range of variability leads to various levels of lig...

This paper presents empirical and theoretical analyses of spectral hemispherical reflectances and transmittances of individual leaves and the entire canopy sampled at two sites representative of equatorial rainforests and temperate coniferous forests. The empirical analysis indicates that some simple algebraic combinations of leaf and canopy spectral transmittances and reflectances eliminate th...

While net precipitation entering the soil is commonly measured in woody ecosystems, there a lack of field measurements for herbaceous vegetation. Small canopy heights and fragile stem structures are primary challenges sampling grasslands under conditions. We designed new situ device, “interception tubes”, throughfall temperate grasslands. The instrument allows natural development grass at multi...

The hydrological recovery of watersheds from disturbances such as ®re and harvest can change the magnitude and distribution of ̄ow paths as the canopy regenerates. The spatial distribution of net water input to the soil±topography system is mediated by vegetation patterns through the processes of interception, evapotranspiration and snowmelt. We have previously described RHESSys, a distributed ...