The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of a plant’s foliage to the total plant’s hydrodynamic drag. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory flume using samples of vegetation with different physical forms and biomechanical properties: Branches of pine Pinus sylvestris and ivy stipes Glechoma hederacea . The drag force was measured directly using a strain gauge technique...

We render tree foliage levels of detail (LODs) using a new adaptation of billboard clouds. Our contributions are a simple and efficient billboard cloud creation algorithm designed specifically for tree foliage, and a method for smooth transitions between LODs. The cloud creation algorithm performs stochastic search to find a set of billboards that approximate the base mesh. Billboard clouds off...

The growth of trees and other plants occurs through the interactive combination of photosynthesis and carbon (and other nutrient) assimilation. Photosynthesis enables the production of carbohydrate that can then be used in growing foliage, whereby photosynthesis is enabled. We construct a mathematical model of carbon uptake and storage, which allows the prediction of the growth dynamics of tree...

The late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans can attack both potato foliage and tubers. When inoculated with P. infestans, foliage of nontransformed 'Russet Burbank' (WT) develops late blight disease while that of transgenic 'Russet Burbank' line SP2211 (+RB) does not. We compared the foliar transcriptome responses of these two lines to P. infestans inoculation using an RNA-seq approach. A t...

Spring Autumn Summer FOLIAGE DAY FOLIAGE NIGHT GROUND NIGHT GROUND -DAY ALFALFA a r t i c l e i n f o

Spray adjuvants can be employed in the foliar application of fertiliser to ensure adhesion of aqueous sprays to the waxy surfaces of foliage (wetters), to improve coverage of spray on foliage (spreaders), to minimise weathering of fertiliser deposits on foliage (stickers/extenders), and to increase the uptake of fertiliser into foliage (humectants, pH modifiers, and penetrants). Even with impro...

We examined effects of a first nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on upper-canopy needle morphology and gas exchange in ~20-m-tall loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) exposed to elevated carbon dioxide concentration ([CO 2 ]) for 9 years. Duke Forest free-air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) plots were split and half of each ring fertilized with 112 kg ha –1 elemental N applied in two applications in March a...

We examined effects of a first nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on upper-canopy needle morphology and gas exchange in approximately 20-m-tall loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) exposed to elevated carbon dioxide concentration ([CO(2)]) for 9 years. Duke Forest free-air CO(2) enrichment (FACE) plots were split and half of each ring fertilized with 112 kg ha(-1) elemental N applied in two applicat...

The midgut pH of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae was significantly lower when larvae were fed acidic foliage. At 30 min after the start of a feeding bout, larvae feeding on bigtooth aspen (foliage pH = 6.04) had average midgut pH levels of 10.16, while larvae feeding on red oak foliage (foliage pH = 3.84) had average midgut pH levels of 9.36. Midgut pH was also significantly reduced when l...

Leaf N signature is a powerful tool that can provide an integrated assessment of the nitrogen (N) cycle and whether it is influenced by rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. We tested the hypothesis that elevated CO2 significantly changes foliage d N in a wide range of plant species and ecosystem types. This objective was achieved by determining the dN of foliage of 27 field-grown plant species...