Introduction
How to use the manuals
This manual tells you how to use your SunScan Canopy Analyser and its accessories. Some pages in the Menus and Screens section are "Quick Guides" which summarise the principal operating modes of the SunScan. They have been laminated on to durable material so that they can be taken into the field instead of the full manual. A separate Technical Manual is provided, but you will only need to refer to it in exceptional circumstances.
If you have purchased the Psion Workabout Data Collection Terminal, you will need to refer to its Workabout User Guide at first, to learn its basic operations. You may also want to refer to your PC User Manual when setting it up to communicate with the SunScan system.
Organisation of this manual
The sections are arranged in a practical order so that you can first of all check the functioning of the equipment you have received, and then learn how to operate it proficiently with the tutorials.
After this, there is a discussion of the measurement options that you must consider when designing your experiments and taking readings in the field. The remainder of the manual covers such things as the theoretical basis for leaf area index estimates, and a technical reference section.
As a new user, you are recommended to work methodically through the Getting Started, and SunScan Tutorial sections. Thereafter you may browse through other parts of the manual as needed.
The SunScan Canopy Analysis System
Here is a brief overview of the main functions and components of the SunScan system.
PAR measurements
Fractional interception and Leaf Area Index estimates
The SunScan probe is a portable instrument for measuring the light levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in plant canopies. With it, you can measure the interception of solar radiation by the canopy, and – in some types of canopy – make estimates of canopy leaf area index (LAI).
PAR mapping
You can quickly take numerous readings to find the average level of PAR beneath the canopy, for example, or make linear transects of the PAR distribution within the canopy.
Autolog and Linear Quantum Sensor modes
The SunScan probe may also be left unattended to log the variation in PAR at one place throughout the course of a day either in its fully functional Autolog mode, or in its more basic Linear Quantum Sensor mode, connected to a data logger.
6 • Introduction | Document code: |
