A simple method to determine leaf angles of grass species

Abstract

There are several very accurate methods to determine leaf angles in closed canopies. However, these are generally very time-consuming or require special equipment. Average canopy leaf angles were derived from simple height and blade length measurements. An exponential relationship between the height/length ratio and the average blade leaf angle was used. The method was tested for two grass species, Dactylis glomerata and Festuca arundinacea, grown under different UV-B levels. The results clearly show that the method is reasonably accurate and able to identify UV-B induced changes in leaf angle. To get these results only 50 measurements of leaf blade height and length were necessary to calculate the allometric relationship, after which 10 length and height measurements from a canopy were used to calculate the average canopy leaf angle.