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Article: Canopy structure and photon flux partitioning among species in a herbaceous plant community.
- Article from:
- Ecology
- Article date:
- March 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Ecological Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
A plant community is a stand of vegetation consisting of a collection of plant individuals of one or more species at a certain site. Structure and species composition of a stand result from differences between individuals in resource exploitation and from dependences among individuals. Resource exploitation can be competitively exclusive or complementary. The latter case implies the possibility of coexistence of species (Grime 1987, Grubb 1987).
Light (photon flux), being the plant's energy source, is one of the most important resources for plant life. A gradient of light climate (photon flux density) develops within a closed canopy of a plant ...