Tansley Review No. 59 Leaf boundary layers |
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Authors: | P. H. SCHUEPP |
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Affiliation: | Department of Renewable Resources, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada |
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Abstract: | Studies of heat and mass exchange between leaves and their local environment are central to our understanding of plant-atmosphere interactions. The transfer across aerodynamic leaf boundary layers is generally described by non-dimensional expressions which reflect largely empirical adaptations of engineering models derived for flat plates. This paper reviews studies on leaves, and leaf models with varying degrees of abstraction, in free and forced convection. It discusses implecations of finding for leaf morphology as it affects – and is affected by – the local microclimate. Predictions of transfer from many leaves in plant communities are complicated by physical and physiological feedback mechanisms between leaves and their environment. Some common approaches, and the current challenge of integrating leaf-atmosphere interactions into models of global relevance, are also briefly addressed. |
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Keywords: | Leaf boundary layer aerodynamic resistance and conductance diffusion transpiration Plant-atmosphere interaction morphological adaptation |
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