Quantifying water-use efficiency in plant canopies with varying leaf angle and density distribution.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Variation in architectural traits related to the spatial and angular distribution of leaf area can have considerable impacts on canopy-scale fluxes contributing to water-use efficiency (WUE). These architectural traits are frequent targets for crop improvement and for improving the understanding and predictions of net ecosystem carbon and water fluxes.

Methods

A three-dimensional, leaf-resolving model along with a range of virtually generated hypothetical canopies were used to quantify interactions between canopy structure and WUE by examining its response to variation of leaf inclination independent of leaf azimuth, canopy heterogeneity, vegetation density and physiological parameters.

Key results

Overall, increasing leaf area index (LAI), increas

SUBMITTER: Ponce de Leon MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11037486 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature