Abstract: An inflatable cell model of paragrlider’s wing canopy has been investigated in wind tunnel experiments, which is designed to represent the dynamic behaviors of each cell comprising the canopy. Effects of air-intake of paraglider canopy have also been investigated in this study. The improvement of the shape of air intake and pressure distribution from the standpoints of aerodynamics wi...

We incorporated a single-layer urban canopy model into a simple two-dimensional atmospheric model in order to describe the fundamental impact of the urban canopy model on an idealized urban heat island simulation. We found that the heat island circulation developed less strongly than when using the atmospheric model with the standard slab urban model. Additionally, the coupling with urban canop...

Tropical forest canopies house most of the globe's diversity, yet little is known about global patterns and drivers of canopy diversity. Here, we present models of ant species density, using climate, abundance and habitat (i.e. canopy versus litter) as predictors. Ant species density is positively associated with temperature and precipitation, and negatively (or non-significantly) associated wi...

Leaf mass per area (LMA, g m(-2)) is an essential trait for modeling canopy function due to its strong association with photosynthesis, respiration and leaf nitrogen. Leaf mass per area, which is influenced by both leaf thickness and density (LMA = thickness × density), generally increases from the bottom to the top of tree canopies, yet the mechanisms behind this universal pattern are not yet ...

Tropical rain forests represent some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth, yet mechanistic links between tree species identity and ecosystem function in these forests remains poorly understood. Here, using free-living nitrogen (N) fixation as a model, we explore the idea that interspecies variation in canopy nutrient concentrations may drive significant local-scale variation in biogeochemica...

Accurate, spatially explicit information about forest canopy fuel properties is essential for ecosystem management strategies for reducing the severity of forest fires. Airborne LiDAR technology has demonstrated its ability to accurately map canopy fuels. However, its geographical and temporal coverage is limited, thus making it difficult to characterize fuel properties over large regions befor...

Maps of canopy nitrogen obtained through analysis of high-resolution, hyperspectral, remotely sensed images now offer a powerful means to make landscape-scale to regional-scale estimates of forest N cycling and net primary production (NPP). Moreover, recent research has suggested that the spatial variability within maps of canopy N may be driven by environmental gradients in such features as hi...

Quantifying the mechanistic links between carbon fluxes and forest canopy attributes will advance understanding of leaf-to-ecosystem scaling and its potential application to assessing terrestrial ecosystem metabolism. Important advances have been made, but prior studies that related carbon fluxes to multiple canopy traits are scarce. Herein, presenting data for 128 cold temperate and boreal for...

To evaluate the applicability of leaf and canopy photosynthesis models, we compared performance of 6 leaf models and validated 1 canopy model of photosynthesis based on field data of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) plantations on a Loess Plateau in northern China. Leaf photosynthetic light response curves and diurnal canopy photosynthetic rates were observed in the field in August 2009. ...

Forest cover is of great interest to a variety of scientific and land management applications, many of which require not only information on forest categories, but also tree canopy density. In previous studies, large area tree canopy density had been estimated at spatial resolutions of 1km or coarser using coarse resolution satellite images. In this study, a strategy is developed for estimating...