Abstract
Botanical parameters (e.g., shoot and branch inclination, petiole length, leaf phyllotaxy, size and shape) that influence light interception and foliage clumping in dense two-year-old monoclonal poplar (Populus spp.) coppice crops were analysed with a three-dimensional simulation model. Crop LAI varied from 1 to 2 for clone Ghoy and from 2.5 to 7.4 for clone Trichobel from May to September. Canopies were strongly clumped, with a clumping index (μ) about 0.5. Canopy light transmittance (τ) varied from 0.59 in May to 0.41 in September for clone Ghoy and from 0.42 to 0.08 for clone Trichobel, and was strongly associated with LAI. The overall effect of a simulated shift in botanical parameters was relatively small and resulted in limited changes in μ and τ by ± 0.05 and ±0.1, respectively. Petiole length had the most notable effect on μ and τ, while the other parameters were less effective. However, biomass cost analyses showed that actual petiole length optimised the efficiency of biomass investment into light capture.
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