SPECTRAL TRANSMISSION CURVES OF SOME TYPES OF LEAF CANOPIES WITH A NOTE ON SEED GERMINATION

Abstract

Measurements show that dense leaf canopies transmit very little radiation in the wavelengths 400–700 nm and many times as much radiation in the longer wavelengths. It is shown that germination of seeds requiring either light or darkness can be inhibited under a dense canopy but the ecological importance of this phenomenon is not proved.