The canopy of a Scots pine forest: Description of a surface of complex roughness

Abstract

Extensive micrometeorological measurements have been made over and within a Scots pine canopy. The structure of the canopy and its surface are described by measurements made on individual trees and by constructing a two-dimensional power spectrum of canopy surface height. This latter technique reveals important structural features which are not apparent when measurements on individual trees are considered alone. A comparison is made between the two-dimensional spectrum of this surface and that of surfaces with very different values of kB −1 and the relationship between surface structure and wind flow pattern is discussed.