Canopy turbulence

Vegetation covers nearly 30% of the Earth’s land surface and influences climate through the exchanges of energy, water, carbon dioxide, and other chemical species with the atmosphere (Bonan, 2008). Through the process of photosynthesis (using the Sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into sugars), vegetation generally grows wherever there is available water and light (Monteith and Unsworth, 2008). The complement of photosynthesis is transpiration, the movement of water from the soil through the plants and into the air, a process which plants use both to access nutrients and to regulate their temperature. Compared to evaporation from bare soils, transpiration is extremely efficient at moving water between layers deep in the soil and the atmosphere.