Estimations of the transparency of the forest canopy: Analysis of the ecological content

The transparency of the forest canopy of lichen-green moss pine forests was estimated for different numbers of sectors of the celestial hemisphere. The ecological contents of these estimations are discussed. The dominance frequencies of species of the herbaceous-dwarf shrub and moss-lichen layers were analyzed. Based on the results of this analysis, it was concluded that the transparency estimated for the zenith sector alone better reflects the influence of leaf debris and the rainfall interception by the crowns. If the transparency was estimated taking into account all sectors of the celestial hemisphere, the effect of community disturbance increased and the redistribution of rainfall was masked.