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Chapter 4: Problem 3

What is the general shape of the curve that describes the vertical attenuation of light through the plant canopy based on Beer's law? Why is it not a straight line (linear)?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The general shape of the curve representing the vertical attenuation of light through a plant canopy is an exponential decay curve. It is not a straight line because the absorption of light by the plant material is not constant as it travels through the canopy, resulting in a non-linear attenuation rate at different depths.

Step by step solution

01

Understand Beer's Law

Beer's law states that the absorbance of a substance is directly proportional to its concentration and the path length of the light through the medium. Mathematically, it is represented as: I = I_0 * e^(-k * L) Where I is the final intensity of the light, I_0 is the initial intensity of the light, k is the absorption coefficient, and L is the path length.
02

Determine the general shape of the curve

The equation for Beer's law is an exponential decay equation. As the light passes through the plant canopy (path length L increases), the intensity of the light (I) decreases according to this equation. The result is an exponential decay curve which reduces the intensity of the light as it travels through the plant canopy.
03

Explain why the curve is not a straight line (linear)

The reason the curve is not a straight line is due to the nature of the interaction between light and the plant canopy. As light penetrates the canopy, a portion of it gets absorbed by the leaves according to the absorption coefficient, while the remaining light continues to travel through the canopy. This process is non-linear because the absorption of light by the plant material is not constant as it travels through the canopy. As more light is absorbed, there is less light available for subsequent layers of leaves, causing the rate of attenuation to change at different depths in the canopy. This results in an exponential decay curve rather than a straight line.

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