The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Leaf Area Index (LAI) Product (MOD15A2) was evaluated for the growing seasons of 2000 through 2004 in Alaska. The LAI estimate may be affected by three factors not directly related to canopy leaf area: snow melt, cloud contamination and conifer forest versus broadleaf shrub canopy type. Increases in MODIS LAI values occurred during the s...

In this paper, we carried out a laboratory experiment to study changes in canopy reflectance of Tamarugo plants under controlled water stress. Tamarugo (Prosopis tamarugo Phil.) is an endemic and endangered tree species adapted to the hyper-arid conditions of the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile. Observed variation in reflectance during the day (due to leaf movements) as well as changes over the ...

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 (cm*.g-‘), ranged from 4.3 to 5.4 m*.rn-r. In three of the four stands, leaf area was distributed in the upper canopy. In the other stand, leaf area was uniformly distributed...

T h e PROSPECT leaf optical properties and SAIL canopy reflectance models were coupled and inverted using a set of 96 AVIRIS (Airborne Visible~Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) equivalent spectra gathered in afield experiment on sugar beet plots expressing a large range in leaf area index, chlorophyll concentration, and soil color. In a first attempt, the model accurately reproduced the spectral r...

salinity is a major environmental problem in arid and semi-arid areas. chickpea (cicer arietinum l.), like other legumes is sensitive to salinity. therefore, selection of genotypes to grow on saline areas is important. eleven chickpea genotypes (as sub plots) were grown in the greenhouse conditions on a medium containing different nacl concentrations (8 and 12 dsm-1) and control (hoagland solut...

Leaf developmental traits are an important component of crop breeding in small-grain cereals. Surprisingly, little is known about the genetic basis for the differences in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaf development. The two barley row-type classes, i.e., twoand six-rowed, show clear-cut differences in leaf development. To quantify these differences and to measure the genetic component of the p...

Heat waves are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Summer heat can be particularly deadly in cities, where temperatures already inflated by abundant impervious, dark surfaces (i.e., the island effect). Urban might ameliorated planting and maintaining urban forests. Previous observational research has suggested that conifers may effective cooling cities. However, nature of these studie...