Method for Measuring the Leaf Surface Area of Complex Shoots

Thompson, F.B.; Leyton, L.

doi:10.1038/229572a0

Cited by 85 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Whenever the degree of variation is known, a conventional photo-electronic leaf area meter may be used without much loss of accuracy. In preliminary tests, employing the projected leaf area as a measure of actual leaf area was found to be superior to methods based on the weight increase of needle samples whose surfaces had been covered by an adhesive and a monolayer of glass beads (Thompson and Leyton 1971;Drew and Running 1975;Davies and Benecke 1980). When measuring projected areas, variability and error due to experimental sources were smaller and the treatment of samples was much less time consuming.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This is due to the complicated geometry of needles. A variety of methods for estimating the surface area of individual needles has been developed that are based on the relationship between some leaf characteristics (for example, dry weight, volume or length) and surface area (Ohmart and Thomas 1986;Johnson 1984), the planimetric determination of the projected leaf area (Drew and Running 1975;Hager and Sterba 1985) or the weight increase after covering the surface with an adhesive and a monolayer of glass beads (Thompson andLeyton 1971, Drew andRunning 1975;Davies and Benecke 1980). Johnson (1984) has also proposed a method for measuring the volume of Pinus needles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Surface areas, lengths and volumes of Picea abies (L.) Karst. needles: determination, biological variability and effect of environmental factors

Riederer

Kurbasik

Steinbrecher

et al. 1988

Trees

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Summary. A method for the rapid determination of the lengths and surface areas of very large samples of needles of Picea abies (L.) Karst. using a computer-aided image analysis system was developed. Two independent methods for measuring non-destructively the volumes of individual needles and of all needles attached to a twig were devised. The surface areas and lengths of about 38000 needles sampled from the three youngest needle age-classes (1986, 1985, 1984) of 48 trees approximately 130 years old at four sites in the Fichtelgebirge mountains (N. E. Bavaria, FRG) were measured. The frequency distributions of lengths and areas for each site and age-class are given. Variability of needle size was fairly large. Even though the sites differed in climate, soil, and air pollution levels no consistent effect of these factors on needle size could be detected. Needle lengths and surface areas did not correlate with either the total chlorophyll content of the needles or the degree of crown thinning. The needle surface area (in mm 2) of fully developed P. abies needles can be estimated by the empirical equation surface area = 4.440 x needle length -24.8 (r = 0.937), and the needle volume (in mm 3) by needle volume = 0.208 x projected needle area 1.353 (r = 0.969).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface areas, lengths and volumes of Picea abies (L.) Karst. needles: determination, biological variability and effect of environmental factors

Riederer

Kurbasik

Steinbrecher

et al. 1988

Trees

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“…This was done only on 30-31 October (after a fumigation of 27 weeks) on 6-month-old needles (which had emerged during fumigation) at the topmost 30-35 mm of two twigs per plant. The surface area of the samples was determined with glass beads according to the method of Thompson and Leyton (1971). Temperature and humidity conditions can be seen in Table 1.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some effects of long-term ozone fumigations on Norway spruce

Keller

Häsler

1987

Trees

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Summary. Potted cuttings of a 12-year-old, and grafts of an 80-year-old, Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) were subjected to 100 or 300 Ixg O3-m -3 for 1215 h (45 h of daylight per week) during the growing season of 1985. At the end of the fumigation the plants did not exhibit any visible signs of injury. Whereas in the fumigation with 100 p.g O3.m -3 we did not detect any significant change in gas exchange, 300 lxg O3"m -3 did alter the CO 2 uptake after 27 weeks, and in one clone transpiration was also altered. Stomatal reaction to a change of light suggested sluggishness, but the change was not statistically significant.

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“…The shoots were then placed in plastic bags and returned to the laboratory for SLA and TLA determinations. SLA for all shoots was measured using a video area meter (Delta-T Devices, Cambridge, England), while TLA was measured using a glass bead coating technique (2,13).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Shoot Structure on Light Interception and Photosynthesis in Conifers

Carter¹,

Smith²

1985

Plant Physiol.

123

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The influence of shoot structure on net photosynthesis was evaluated under field conditions for the central Rocky Mountain (United States) conifers Picca engelmannii (Parry ex Engelm.), Abies lasiocarpa (IHooki Nutt.), and Pinus contorta (Engelm.). In all species, the greater number of needles per unit stem length on sun shoots correlated with a smaller silhouette leaf area to total leaf area ratio (STAR). Decreased The importance of intercepting direct-beam sunlight in plants is evidenced by a large variety of behavioral and structural adaptations in individual leaves. Relatively few studies, however, have evaluated the implications of shoot structure on physiological processes. Recent data on conifer photosynthesis in shoots oriented at different angles to the irradiating beam have illustrated the potential importance of a complex shoot morphology in influencing shoot-level photosynthesis (6, 9). In fact, illuminating conifer shoots from all angles using an integrating sphere resulted in higher photosynthetic flux densities that were more typical or broadleaf species (12). Other workers have reported that individual conifer needles also had higher photosynthetic flux densities than for entire shoots exposed to direct beam light (5, 7).The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the complex shoot structure found in conifers on photosynthetic flux densities under field conditions. Measurements of net CO2 assimilation of individual shoots were combined with morphological measurements that estimated the influence of needle orientation and mutual shading on sunlight interception. Similar measurements were made for shoots which were experimentally modified to minimize these structural effects. Photosynthesis was measured for relatively short-needled spruce and fir species, and a longer-needled pine species, that are dominant members ofthe subalpine forests of the Central Rocky Mountains.Leaf Area and Photosynthesis. Field measurements of plant photosynthetic flux densities are now commonly made by enclosing a shoot, leaf, or leaf portion into a transparent chamber exposed to solar radiation and then determining CO2 flux into the leaf material. For laminar leaves, photosynthetic flux densities are then usually calculated on the basis ofthe actual amount of leaf area intercepting direct beam radiation (11). When the direct radiation is perpendicular to the plane ofthe leaf, the area of the leaf shadow cast on a surface beneath and parallel to the leaf plane is termed PLA'. The PLA for thin, flat leaves closely approximates one-halfTLA, and its use in calculating photosynthesis leads to consistent and comparable measurement units. However, an equally justifiable area for use in quantifying photosynthesis for species with complex leaf arrangements, such as conifers, has not been comprehensively evaluated. Previous researchers have often defined a PLA for conifers as equal to onehalf TLA, or as the total projection area measured when all needles were removed from a shoot and spread on a fl...

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Method for Measuring the Leaf Surface Area of Complex Shoots

Cited by 85 publications

References 6 publications

Surface areas, lengths and volumes of Picea abies (L.) Karst. needles: determination, biological variability and effect of environmental factors

Surface areas, lengths and volumes of Picea abies (L.) Karst. needles: determination, biological variability and effect of environmental factors

Some effects of long-term ozone fumigations on Norway spruce

Influence of Shoot Structure on Light Interception and Photosynthesis in Conifers

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