Turbid medium models and light in intercropping

Light partitioning within intercropping systems is mostly modelled by using the turbid medium analogy. Barillot et al. assess this approach by comparing it with a light-projective model based on 3-D plant mock-ups for contrasting grass–legume canopies (wheat–pea, tall fescue–alfalfa, tall fescue–clover). They find that light partitioning is accurately predicted by the turbid medium approach in most of the canopies studied; however, a more detailed description of the canopy is required for mixtures exhibiting marked vertical stratification and/or inter- or intraspecies overlapping of foliage.