Title: Distribution of Leaf Photosynthetic Capacity in Canopy and its Effect on Canopy Photosynthesis
Abstract: Supposing that adaptation of leaf to enironmental light conditions brings about moreefficient use of limited nitrogen resource by plantcanopy, by using the method of variationalcalculus, optimal vertical distribution of leafphotosynthetic capacity with cumulative LAIas the vertical axis has been analysed. Whenleaf photosynthetic capacity distribution runsparallel to. that of light intensity, canopy pho-tosynthetic rate and in turn nitrogen use effici-ency will be the highest. The comparison be-tween canopy photosynthetic rates of canopiesand different leaf photosynthetic capacity dis-tribution patterns shows that the one with de-creasing distribution will have higher canopynitrogen use efficiecy, and that the advantageof such adaptation to light would be greaterin canopy with higher extinction coefficient andLAI. Under certain conditions, daily photo-synthetic rates of the canopy with the optimalleaf photosynthetic capacity distribution havebeen calculated to be 11.7% and 36.5% hi-gher than those wi uniform distribution when extinction coefficients are 0.4 and 1, respecti-vely. Furthermore, a model of photosynthe-sis of canopy with optimal leaf photosyntheticcapacity distribution has been derived. Inthe new model, because of leaf adaptation, the rate of canopy photosynthesis will neverdecrease with an increase in LAI and will belinearly proportional to the fraction or totalamount of radiation intercepted. The de-pendence of canopy light use efficiency on can-opy structure and leaf photosynthetic chara-teristics has been demonstrated.
Publication Year: 1988
Publication Date: 1988-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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