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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Using High Resolution Computed Tomography to Visualize the Three Dimensional Structure and Function of Plant Vasculature
Published on: April 5, 2013
Plant light interception can be explained via computed tomography scanning: demonstration with pyramidal cedar (Thuja
Pierre Dutilleul1, Liwen Han, Donald L Smith
1Department of Plant Science, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, Canada H9X 3V9. pierre.dutilleul@mcgill.ca
Background And Aims:
Light interception by the leaf canopy is a key aspect of plant photosynthesis, which helps mitigate the greenhouse effect via atmospheric CO(2) recycling. The relationship between plant light interception and leaf area was traditionally modelled with the Beer-Lambert law, until the spatial distribution of leaves was incorporated through the fractal dimension of leafless plant structure photographed from the side allowing maximum appearance of branches and petioles. However, photographs of leafless plants are two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional structures, and sampled plants were cut at the stem base before leaf blades were detached manually, so canopy development could not be followed for individual plants. Therefore, a new measurement and modelling approach were developed to explain plant light interception more completely and precisely, based on appropriate processing of computed tomography (CT) scanning data collected for developing canopies.
Methods:
Three-dimensional images of canopies were constructed from CT scanning data. Leaf volumes (LV) were evaluated from complete canopy images, and fractal dimensions (FD) were estimated from skeletonized leafless images. The experimental plant species is pyramidal cedar (Thuja occidentalis, Fastigiata).
Key Results:
The three-dimensional version of the Beer-Lambert law based on FD alone provided a much better explanation of plant light interception (R(2) = 0.858) than those using the product LV*FD (0.589) or LV alone (0.548). While values of all three regressors were found to increase over time, FD in the Beer-Lambert law followed the increase in light interception the most closely. The delayed increase of LV reflected the appearance of new leaves only after branches had lengthened and ramified.
Conclusions:
The very strong correlation obtained with FD demonstrates that CT scanning data contain fundamental information about the canopy architecture geometry. The model can be used to identify crops and plantation trees with improved light interception and productivity.
