• Contributors: dennis baldocchi
  • Publication Type: JOUR
  • Authors: Pennypacker, S. and Baldocchi, D.

  • Canopy height is an important and dynamic site variable that affects the mass and energy exchanges between vegetation and the atmosphere. We develop a method to estimate canopy height routinely, using surface-layer theory and turbulence measurements made from a collection of flux towers. This tool is based on connecting the logarithmic wind profile generally expected in a neutral surface layer with direct measurements of friction velocity and assumptions about canopy height’s relationships with zero-plane displacement and aerodynamic roughness length. Tests over a broad range of canopy types and heights find that calculated values are in good agreement with direct measurements of canopy height, including in a heterogeneous landscape. Based on the various uncertainties associated with our starting assumptions about canopy micrometeorology, we present a blueprint for future work that is necessary for expanding and improving these initial calculations.


  • Journal: Boundary-Layer Meteorology
  • Funding Agency: Dept of Energy; CA Dept Water Resources
  • Volume:
  • No:
  • Pages: 1-18
  • Publication Year: 2015
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10546-015-0090-0
  • ISBN: