Canopy structure, the vertical distribution of canopy material, is an important element of forest ecosystem dynamics and habitat preference. Although vertical stratification, or “canopy layering,” is a basic characterization of canopy structure for research and forest management, it is difficult to quantify at landscape scales. In this paper we describe canopy structure and develop methodologie...

Predicting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed yield is of interest for crop producers to make important agronomic and economic decisions. Evaluating the canopy across a range common practices, using measurements, provides large inference producers. The individual synergistic relationships between fractional green cover (FGCC), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interception, normalize...

Reducing chlorophyll (chl) content may improve the conversion efficiency of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation into biomass and therefore yield in dense monoculture crops by improving light penetration and distribution within the canopy. The effects of reduced chl on leaf and canopy photosynthesis and photosynthetic efficiency were studied in two reportedly robust reduced-chl soybean ...

Vegetation productivity metrics such as gross primary production (GPP) at the canopy scale are greatly affected by the efficiency of using absorbed radiation for photosynthesis, or light use efficiency (LUE). Thus, close investigation of the relationships between canopy GPP and photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by vegetation is the basis for quantification of LUE. We used multiyear o...

We develop a simple, analytical model for canopy resistance to canopy–atmosphere gas exchange that is well suited for incorporation into regional-scale land-surface parameterizations. This model exploits the conservative nature of canopy light-use efficiency (LUE) in carbon assimilation that is observed within broad categories of plant species. The model paradigm assumes that under standard env...