Abstract

A two-flow model is developed to simulate a light field composed of both collimated and diffuse irradiance within natural waters containing a canopy of bottom-adhering plants. To account for the effects of submerging a canopy, the transmittance and reflectance terms associated with each plant structure (leaves, stems, fruiting bodies, etc.) are expressed as functions of the ratio of the refractive index of the plant material to the refractive index of the surrounding media and the internal transmittance of the plant structure. Algebraic solutions to the model are shown to yield plausible physical explanations for unanticipated variations in volume reflectance spectra. The effect of bottom reflectance on the near-bottom light field is also investigated. These results indicate that within light-limited submerged aquatic plant canopies, substrate reflectance may play an important role in determining the amount of light available to the plants and, therefore, canopy productivity.

© 1986 Optical Society of America

Plant canopy light absorption model with application to wheat

J. E. Chance and E. W. LeMaster
Appl. Opt. 17(16) 2629-2636 (1978)

Light Relations in Plant Canopies

S. B. Idso and C. T. de Wit
Appl. Opt. 9(1) 177-184 (1970)

Interaction of Light with a Plant Canopy*

William A. Allen and Arthur J. Richardson
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 58(8) 1023-1028 (1968)

Coupled atmosphere/canopy model for remote sensing of plant reflectance features

Siegfried A. W. Gerstl and Andrew Zardecki
Appl. Opt. 24(1) 94-103 (1985)

Optical characteristics of individual plant elements and plant canopies grown under radiation regimes of different spectral composition and intensity

A. A. Tikhomirov and F. Ya. Sidko
Appl. Opt. 22(18) 2874-2881 (1983)