Vegetation indices (VIs) derived from satellite reflectance measurements are often used as proxies of canopy activity to evaluate the impacts of drought and heat wave on gross primary production (GPP) through production efficiency models. However, GPP is also regulated by physiological processes that cannot be directly detected using reflectance measurements. This study analyzes the co-limitati...

The Botanical Plant Modelling System (BPMS) [1] [2] is used to simulate the directional reflectance of a barley canopy. The ability of linear BRDF model kernels to describe the directional reflectance of this canopy relatively accurately is confirmed. Rather than accepting this as a (form of) 'validation' of the simple model, a more interesting line is followed whereby the factors controlling t...

Tropical pastures present multiple barriers to tree regeneration and restoration. Relict trees serve as "regeneration foci" because they ameliorate the soil microclimate and serve as safe spots for dispersers. Here, we describe another mechanism by which remnant trees may facilitate pasture regeneration: the presence of seed banks in the canopy soil that accumulates from decomposing epiphytes w...

In order to evaluate canopy and organs temperature depression (TD) under heat stress conditions and the effects of plant morphology on organs temperature depression and their association with grain yield, two field experiments were conducted using six wheat cultivars (Behrang, Chamran, Kauz, Koohdasht, Karim and Montana) planted on three dates (early, optimum, late) in 2014-2015 and 2015 -2016 ...

1. Over three growing seasons, we tested how an invasive tree species ( Acer platanoides ) affected native plant growth in understorey communities of a suburban forest in central New Jersey, USA. We planted similar aged and sized saplings ( ≥ 0.25 m tall) into experimental plots identified with one of three treatments (0%, 25% and 50% of total stems are invasive species) and hypothesized native...

Hyperspectral remote sensing serves as an effective tool for estimating foliar nitrogen using a variety of techniques. Vegetation indices (VIs) are a simple means of retrieving foliar nitrogen. Despite their popularity, few studies have been conducted to examine the utility of VIs for mapping canopy foliar nitrogen in a mixed forest context. In this study, we assessed the performance of 32 vege...

There is increasing interest in evaluating the environmental effects on crop architectural traits and yield improvement. However, crop models describing the dynamic changes in canopy structure with environmental conditions and the complex interactions between canopy structure, light interception, and dry mass production are only gradually emerging. Using tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) as a mo...

Mature potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Kennebec) canopies are composed of leaves originating frommainand axillary-stem branches. Canopy leaf distribution and its corresponding contribution to wholecanopy photosynthetic rates have not been quantified. An experiment using SPAR (Soil–Plant–Atmosphere–Research) chambers maintained at 16-h day/night thermoperiods of 14/10, 17/12, 20/15, 23/18, 28/2...