This session aims to discuss the state-of-the-art developments in radiation transfer research in forest and agricultural systems. The characteristics and behavior of radiative fluxes activate many of the physical, chemical, and biological processes in plants. Solar radiation plays a crucial role in growth and competition and affects the physiological ecology of plant stands. The quantity of radiation penetrating a plant canopy is highly spatially and temporally variable.

Due to wavelength-selective reflection, transmission, and absorption of photons, the spectral composition, and therefore quality, of radiation is altered, and its subsequent interaction with biomass is of fundamental significance. Radiation supplies the phytoelements with the necessary energetic input for photosynthesis and regulates growth through pigmentary absorption, especially in the ultraviolet, blue, and red fraction of the solar spectrum. Besides the physiological implications, the distribution, characteristics, and behavior of radiative fluxes and their interaction with the canopy also have implications for micrometeorological and biogeochemical processes, such as gas and energy exchange, stand-scale climate, and primary production. The radiation properties of a canopy are also crucial in remote sensing applications.

This session aspires to contribute to a better understanding of the current knowledge underlying physical, chemical, and biological processes of forest and agricultural radiative transfer, and their interactions with the atmosphere. It is open for contributions from experimental and modeling studies as well as interdisciplinary approaches.

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