Plant Canopies Their Growth, Form and Function [Paperback]

This volume is a synthesis of current knowledge about the growth, development and functioning of plant canopies.The ways plant canopies grow, develop and function are revealed through an explanation of the processes--such as transpiration and photosynthesis--by which the canopy and its aerial environment interact.The ways plant canopies grow, develop and function are revealed through an explanation of the processes--such as transpiration and photosynthesis--by which the canopy and its aerial environment interact.A thorough synthesis of current knowledge about the ways canopies grow, develop, and function. Only recently have advances in simulation modeling in plants begun to emphasize the structural and functional properties of plant canopies in addition to those of the individual constituent leaves. The book considers these properties in terms of the processes--such as transpiration and photosynthesis--by which the canopy and its aerial environment interact. Topics discussed include the meaning of canopy structure, interception of solar radiation, exchange processes, nitrogen nutrition, leaf demography, leaf movement, tillering and branching, and modeling canopy processes from a wide range of plant communities and geographical locations.List of contributors; Preface; 1. The description and measurement of plant canopy structure G. S. Campbell and J. M. Norman; 2. Absorption of radiation by canopies and stand growth G. Russell; 3. Turbulent transfer in plant canopy M. R. Raupach; 4. Regional interactions between canopies and the atmosphere K. G. McNaughton; 5. Modelling the effects of nitrogen on canopy development and crop growth H. Van Keulen; 6. Canopies as populations J. L. Harper; 7. Diurnal leaf movements and productivity in canopies J. R. Ehleringer and I. N. Forseth; 8. Modules, models and meristems in plant architecture J. R. Porter; 9. Synthesis of canopy processes J. M. Norman; Index. Discussion of the meaning of canopy structure, interception of solar radilC'