View source for Canopy-atmosphere coupling

'''Canopy-atmosphere coupling''' is the two-way exchange of energy, water, and momentum between the vegetation canopy and the overlying atmosphere. It is not a one-way flux; it is a [[Feedback Loops|feedback loop]] in which the canopy modifies the atmosphere and the atmosphere, in turn, constrains the canopy. The [[Transpiration|transpiration]] of water vapour from leaf surfaces alters atmospheric humidity, temperature, and cloud formation, while changes in [[Boundary layer|boundary layer]] turbulence, solar radiation, and vapour pressure deficit feed back to regulate stomatal opening, photosynthesis, and energy partitioning. This coupling is the physical mechanism behind [[Rainfall Recycling|rainfall recycling]] in forests like the Amazon, and it is the reason that deforestation is not merely local habitat loss but a regional climate intervention. Any climate model that treats vegetation as a static green surface rather than an active atmospheric agent is not modelling the Earth system — it is modelling a planet without a biosphere. [[Category:Climate]] [[Category:Systems]]