Whole-Stand Carbon Gains and Nitrogen Distribution in Herbaceous Stands

We studied canopy structure and leaf nitrogen distribution in open and dense stands of tall dicot and monocot herbs and compared the results with simulated canopy performance under uniform and optimised leaf nitrogen distributions. Dense stands showed leaf nitrogen distributions that greatly differed from those of uniform distribution but did not completely match optimum distribution. In dense stands this led to strongly enhanced potential whole canopy carbon gains, while in open stands the leaf nitrogen distribution was not very important in this respect. Dense stands of monocots kept more leaf nitrogen in the lower parts of their canopies than is justified by the prevailing light climate low in the stands and some dense stands maintained a higher than optimum total leaf area.