ACINN Graduate Seminar - SS 2026
2026-05-27 at 12:00 (on-line and on-site) in the seminar room
Between stomata and clouds: Unveiling vegetation-atmospheric boundary layer interactions with high resolution observations and modeling
Raquel González Armas
Meteorology and Air Quality, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Vegetation and atmosphere interact by exchanging energy, water and carbon. Yet, uncertainties remain in how these exchanges are represented in Earth system models, particularly regarding their diurnal evolution, vertical variability within canopies, and sensitivity to clouds.
This presentation addresses these gaps by integrating observations and modeling, linking leaf-scale processes to canopy and atmospheric dynamics. Modeling approaches range from a conceptual atmospheric model to canopy-resolving Large Eddy Simulations.
Results show that diurnal variations in ecosystem water and CO₂ exchange are strongly controlled by radiation, temperature, and vapor pressure deficit. These exchanges of matter vary significantly in different canopy layers, and are sometimes decoupled from what is measured above the canopy. In that regard, we observed and modeled within-canopy stratification, which is responsible of decoupling lower canopy layers from the overlying atmosphere, affecting the transport of matter. Finally, in this presentation, we reflect upon how boundary layer clouds, through its effect on surface radiation, modify within-canopy vegetation exchanges and air turbulent properties.
Overall, our results highlight the importance of better representing diurnal, vertical, and cloud-related processes in land-atmosphere models. Additionally, our results demonstrate the value of canopy-resolving approaches to investigate these processes under realistic conditions.
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