Surface area of leaves

Leaves are a vital and critical component of plants. They operate as the plants’ food factory. Leaf surface area is directly related to the amount of photosynthetic light harvested, which has an effect on plant growth and yield. The plant is mostly reliant on its leaves to absorb CO2 and water, which are required for photosynthesis.

All key photosynthetic mechanisms occur in leaves. In summary, the most critical of these are light capture by chloroplasts in leaves and CO2 production via stomata in leaves. The area of the plant’s leaves is also involved in the process, which is referred to as evapotranspiration.

Internal plant tissues are always subjected to greater pressure. When water is consumed in excess of the plant’s requirements, it is emitted as vapours through the plant’s stomata in the leaves. Transpiration is a method through which plants regulate CO2 uptake and water vapour evaporation. Thus, the leaf area assists in estimating the extent of a plant’s transpiration mechanism.

As a result, leaf area is critical for understanding how plants adapt to a variety of natural habitats. Plants with a higher evapotranspiration rate typically require a greater amount of water and fertiliser, as water is merely a vehicle for food absorption in the plant body.

Need to measure leaf area 

Leaf area is a critical statistic in a wide variety of relevant fields of inquiry. However, understanding of leaf area is critical in horticulture, floriculture, and ecology. To begin, there is a requirement to quantify leaf area in order to conduct study on environmental adaptations. As leaf surface area is a great indication of plant health,

Leaf area measurement is one of the parameters used in ecology to study the consequences of deforestation and reforestation. Ecophysiologists do study on crops and natural ecosystems using leaf area measurements.

Stress on the crop might result in a shift in leaf area. As a result, the amount of stress induced by biological and physical factors is governed by the amount of leave available. Crop optimization is another area where knowledge regarding leaf area is being applied.

Finally, leaf area is critical information for agricultural methods aimed at improving plant growth conditions. As a result, leaf area is a critical indicator for agricultural scientists. Agronomists, for example, can use this knowledge to establish the optimal agricultural techniques. Similarly, farmers can determine whether their annual and perennial crops are growing in an ideal environment.

How to measure the leaf area

There are several techniques for calculating the surface leaf area of a plant. Direct measurements, planimeter usage, and leaf area metres are the most often used.

Direct Measurements

Climate change and daily temperature increases emphasise the need for leaf area research. There will be other advances in this subject in the near future.

Growers may now monitor their fruit orchards and cereal crops in a changing climate using the newest devices for measuring leaf area. Leaf area measurement equipment were also critical in identifying plant responses to the environment and optimising agricultural yields in a changing climate.

Leaf area may be determined using this approach by multiplying the length and breadth of the leaf by the regression equation shown below:

   A = l × w × b

where l denotes the length of the leaf, w denotes the width of the leaf at its widest point, b denotes the leaf shape coefficient, which varies by species, and A denotes the leaf area.

Grid Paper or Millimeter graph paper method

A leaf is projected onto graph paper using this approach. It is critical to note that when measuring the area of a leaf on graph paper, area refers to the amount of surface area covered by an item or place.

Any leaf’s area is an irregularly shaped region. The simplest method for estimating the area of an irregular form is to trace it on graph paper. Then, the number of squares covered by the forms must be determined.

As a result, the leaf’s grids are critical, and the number of these grids determines the leaf’s area.

Additionally, while using the grid paper method to get the leaf area, it is critical to remember the rule of thumb. Each square that is covered by the form (a leaf) by more than 50% must be counted as 1 cm2.

Planimeter

This is one of the easiest methods. However, this approach is detrimental. This measurement’s algorithm is self-explanatory: a leaf is plucked. The researcher must then determine the dimensions of a leaf in order to calculate its area.

Leaf Area Meters

Leaf area metres are classified into two types: portable and computerised.

Digital Leaf Area Meters

This is one of the most novel methods for calculating the leaf area index. Any digital leaf area metre operates on a very basic basis. The region is determined by the digital camera using image segmentation. The majority of digital leaf area metres rely on Computer Vision libraries to “explain” q how to estimate leaf area to the smartphone.

As a result, the majority of digital leaf area metres are simple to operate. There are a few reputable digital leaf area metres that produce accurate readings. They do, however, differ in terms of pricing, labour style, time required to perform a single measurement, camera calibration procedure, and capabilities for saving and sharing measurements.

Conclusion

Leaf size was represented as the average individual leaf projected area and leaf dry mass for each individual leaf on average (measured for the entire leaf for simple-leaved species, and for the leaflet in compound-leaved species). It is possible to estimate many elements of leaf function using the two factors that relate to the size of the leaf. For example, leaf area quantifies the energy balance,