Articles
Importance and Measurement of Leaf Area Index in Vertical Greening Systems
Leaf Area Index (LAI) can be used to quantify the benefits of vertical greening systems, such as thermal cooling, energy savings, air pollution control, and noise pollution control. LAI for vertical greening systems needs to be measured along the vertical plane. Three methods, including direct and indirect estimation, are used to measure LAI. The choice… Continue reading…
Additional reading
Can I Use the CI‑600 Root Imager in Sandy Soils?
Yes, the CI-600 Root Imager can be used in sandy soils, and in many cases sandy sites are actually well suited to this kind of root work. The bigger point, though, is that success in sand comes down to installation quality, tube stability, and a workflow built for repeated, non-destructive measurements over time. The CI-600… Continue reading…
What Happens If My Canopy Profiles Change Mid‑Season?
Canopy profiles rarely stay still for an entire growing season. That is exactly why tracking canopy profiles matters. A crop can look uniform in early vegetative growth, then shift quickly once row closure, heat stress, nutrient differences, pruning, lodging, disease pressure, or irrigation variation start changing leaf angle, canopy density, and light penetration. When canopy… Continue reading…
Is the CI‑340 Accurate Enough for Photosynthesis Rate Comparisons?
For researchers running photosynthesis rate comparisons, the real question is usually not whether a handheld system can produce useful data. It is whether the instrument is stable, repeatable, and flexible enough to support side by side measurements across treatments, genotypes, environments, or time points. On that standard, the CI-340 makes a strong case. CID Bio-Science… Continue reading…
Do I Need a Laptop to Operate the CI‑110?
If you are wondering, “do I need a laptop to operate the CI-110,” the practical answer is no. The CI-110 Plant Canopy Imager is designed to work as a self-contained field instrument, which is a big deal when you are collecting canopy data outside the lab. Instead of building your workflow around a separate computer,… Continue reading…
What’s the Difference Between Gap‑Fraction and PAR Methods in Canopy Analysis?
When researchers compare canopy analysis methods, the conversation usually comes down to one practical question: do you want to estimate canopy structure from images of the canopy itself, or from the light that makes it through the canopy? That is the core difference between gap-fraction and PAR methods. Both are used to estimate leaf area… Continue reading…
Can the CI‑710s SpectraVue Be Used on Trees and Shrubs, or Only Crops?
If you are evaluating a leaf spectrometer for field work, the short answer is yes: the CI-710s SpectraVue is not limited to crops. It is built for plant researchers working across crops, trees, shrubs, and broader environmental systems. CID Bio-Science positions the CI-710s for crop optimization, forest productivity and sustainability, and environmental research, which makes… Continue reading…
