Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Physically based models simulating the spectral transmittance of solar radiation through forest canopies are useful tools for examining the connections between the shortwave radiation environment and the productivity and biodiversity of the forest floor. We report a comprehensive evaluation of two approaches simulating forest canopy spectral transmittance. The approaches were (i) three‐dimensional radiative transfer modelling in canopies composed of individual trees filled with turbid media and (ii) photon recollision probability theory (p‐theory), and were implemented using DART‐FT and PARAS models, respectively. The simulations were evaluated against mean and standard deviation of canopy transmittance spectra measured under clear‐sky conditions in forest plots across central and Northern Europe. In general, both models agreed well with the in situ measurements. They performed equally in conifer forests, while PARAS had a slightly lower accuracy than DART‐FT in broadleaved forests. We conclude that both approaches produce realistic simulations of canopy spectral transmittance at the spatial scale tested in this study, and that p‐theory constitutes a computationally efficient and easy‐to‐parameterize alternative to three‐dimensional radiative transfer.
Source: Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Institutions: Aalto University, Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute, University of Bonn, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Centre d'Études Spatiales de la Biosphère, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université de Toulouse
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
OpenAlex ID: W4401745831