Estimating Leaf area index of the deciduous forest in the Dragonja watershed – Part II: Results and discussion
- Authors: Mojca ŠRAJ
- Citation: Acta hydrotechnica, vol. 22, no. 36, pp. 1-15, 2004.
- Abstract: Measurements and estimation of leaf area index (LAI) were carried out in the deciduous forest in the experimental watershed of the Dragonja River. At the same time precise measurements and analysis relevant to single elements of the forest hydrological cycle and other vegetational parameters with modern measuring equipment were made. In Part 1 of the paper (Šraj, 2003b) the methods of delineation of the leaf area index and measurements of LAI were discussed. An accurate description of characteristical features of trees on both chosen plots was also given. In this part of the paper, results of measurements, LAI estimation and analysis are given. The measurements commenced in autumn 2000. The specific leaf area (SLA) was estimated for the most abundant tree species (for example oak, ash, hornbeam, maple, cornelian cherry dogwood). Leaf area index was estimated according to three methods: direct method of litterfall collection, method of hemispherical photography, and method of measuring photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The analyses revealed that the methods of hemispherical photography and of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) underestimated the value of LAI in the full-leaf period. LAI estimated according to the litterfall collection method was 6.7 on the south plot and 7.3 on the north plot. The lower value of LAI on the south plot was expected, since the forest on the south plot has a more open character than the one on the north plot.
- Keywords: leaf area index (LAI), specific leaf area (SLA), Dragonja, forest hydrology, experimental plot
- Full text: a36ms.pdf