Forest Productivity, Leaf Area, and Terrain in Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forests

摘要

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important structural characteristic of forest ecosystems which has been shown to be strongly related to forest mass and energy cycles and forest productivity. LAI is more easily measured than forest productivity, and so a strong relationship between LAI and productivity would be a valuable tool in forest management. While a linear relationship has been observed between LAI and forest productivity, most of these data have been collected in needle-leaved evergreen stands. The generality and consistency of the relationship between LAI and productivity has not been as well established for deciduous forests.