Radiation Regime and Photosynthesis of Coniferous Stands

Abstract

Among the environmental factors affecting plant growth, solar radiation has a central role as being the only source of energy for the process of photosynthesis. It has been shown that the growth rate of several agricultural crops increases linearly with increasing amount of intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (Monteith 1972, 1977), and a number of investigations have shown a similar relationship between intercepted PAR and (aboveground) dry matter production in forest stands (e.g., Linder 1985; Grace et al. 1987)