60.
Major knowledge gaps exist with respect to light-quality regimes in the coastal-zone Strandzha
Quercus frainetto (
Q.f.) forest region adjoining the southern Bulgarian Black Sea. This paper presents preliminary results that help narrow these
gaps. In conjunction with leaf area index (LAI) field campaigns we undertook measurements with an array of 7 broad-band (ca
40 nm) sensors covering the range 0.40–0.94 μm, plus 1 sensor for UVB (0.297 μm peak) and 1 for photosynthetically active
radiation (PAR). Measurements focused on inside-forest shade conditions at sites 0 to ca 15 km from the Black Sea and at altitudes
up to ca 120 m above sea level. Some of the sites were also studied using a high-resolution spectroradiometer. A sequential
measuring strategy was necessary. This involves potentially large uncertainties, here addressed through estimations of the
variability around the sinusoidal course of daylight. Light-quality regimes were found to be in general support of earlier
studies of deciduous forests. Our data from the broad-band sensors and from the spectroradiometer are mutually supportive.
They indicate a stronger red-shift below
Q.f. canopies than below canopies in enclaves dominated by
Fagus orientalis and
Pinus sylvestris. Transmission in the range 0.50–0.55 μm increases beneath the three types of canopies, most pronounced in the
Q.f. case. Analysis of relationships between the inside-forest to open-field irradiance ratio and LAI supports the use of Beer’s
Law. We found a fairly strong relationship between the red (0.66 μm) to far-red (0.73 μm) irradiance ratios (R/FR) and LAI
for the
Q.f. forest. In quantitative terms, the result is new for this
Q.f. region, and suggests further research to explore whether a two-sensor approach (0.66 and 0.73 μm) might offer possibilities
for further low-cost mapping of the spatio-temporal patterns of R/FR and LAI in Strandzha. Such mapping would assist in further
studies of the region’s forest biogeochemistry and vitality.
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