Abstract
Leaves act as a primary organ for the interception of solar radiation and their spatial arrangement determines how the plant canopy interacts with light. Many studies have been carried out on the penetration of radiation into crops however to date, few results are available on turfgrasses, mainly due to the difficulties of introducing sensors into the turf without disturbing the natural position of the leaves. In the present research two warm season turfgrasses, hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × transvaalensis) 'Patriot' and manilagrass (Zoysia matrella) 'Zeon', were studied. The aim was to describe their canopy architecture grown with minimal disturbance to the natural arrangement of the leaves and stems, and to determine the potential effects of canopy architecture on light penetration and reflectance. Radiometric measurements were carried out at eight different profile levels of turfgrasses that were up to 12 cm tall. A LI-COR 1800 spectroradiometer with an optical fiber cable and a 7 mm diameter sensor was used. Measurements were carried out in the 390–1100 nm region at 5 nm intervals. The LAI value was higher for the manilagrass (9.0) than for the hybrid bermudagrass (5.6). The transmitted radiation was found to be closely dependent on downward cumulative LAI. Despite a more upright habit (mean insertion angle of 22.4° ±3.4), Zoysia matrella showed a higher NIR reflectance compared to Cdxt, which has a horizontal leaf arrangement (mean insertion angle 62.1° ± 9.6). The species studied showed substantial differences both in terms of phytometric characteristics and in the capacity to attenuate solar radiation.
Highlights
Plants depend on solar radiation for the energy necessary to carry on photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis
Incident radiation is only partially reflected by the external surface of a plant, while at the canopy level, light interacts extensively with a plant community with a multitude of reflection, refraction and diffusion phenomena which occur both within single leaves and the whole canopy
The radiation reflected by plant canopies brings a specific “spectral signature” and the analysis of reflectance spectra provides valuable information on the species [5] color [6; 7; 8] Leaf Area Index (LAI) [9; 10] chlorophyll content [11], drought stress [12; 13] and nutritional status [14; 15] of many crops and turfgrasses
Summary
Plants depend on solar radiation for the energy necessary to carry on photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis. Incident radiation is only partially reflected by the external surface of a plant, while at the canopy level, light interacts extensively with a plant community with a multitude of reflection, refraction and diffusion phenomena which occur both within single leaves and the whole canopy. The radiation reflected by plant canopies brings a specific “spectral signature” and the analysis of reflectance spectra provides valuable information on the species [5] color [6; 7; 8] Leaf Area Index (LAI) [9; 10] chlorophyll content [11], drought stress [12; 13] and nutritional status [14; 15] of many crops and turfgrasses. Based on the interpretation of spectral reflectance instruments have been developed for the early detection of stress in plants or for large scale data acquisition [16; 17; 18]
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