Assessing the protective effect of vertically heterogeneous canopies against radiative frost: The case of quinoa on the Andean Altiplano

International audience; Night radiative frost is a highly limiting factor for agriculture in Andean highlands. Nevertheless, a diversity of crop species was domesticated there, commonly showing high heterogeneity in plant growth at the field level. To examine a possible protective effect of crop canopy heterogeneity against nocturnal radiative frost, a dual approach combining a field experiment and a simplified energy balance model at the leaf level was used. Leaf and air temperatures were registered over an entire quinoa crop cycle in the Andean highlands of Bolivia, comparing two cultivars: Blanca de Yanamuyu, a traditional landrace with high plant height heterogeneity, and Surumi, a more homogeneous selected variety. In both cultivars, inverted air density profiles during calm and clear nights result in air temperature changes up to 4 °C over 1 m height, with minimum air temperature concentrated at the upper part of the canopy. In these conditions, leaf temperature gradients of up to 2.6 °C m-1 develop within the canopy of the traditional landrace, with minimum leaf temperature significantly higher (P < 0.001) in shaded plants of the landrace than in the selected cultivar. A dynamic model of leaf temperature based on canopy parameters and climatic records at screen level adequately simulates leaf temperature differences in the case of a vertically heterogeneous quinoa canopy. A sensitivity analysis of the model reveals that canopy height, leaf area index, and sky cloudiness are most important for the sheltering effect to develop, while air temperature and air humidity play a minor role under typical radiative frost conditions. As for wind velocity, its actual influence remains unclear due to experimental and modelling limitations at low wind speeds. The significance of these results is discussed in terms of the trade-off between stress adaptation and biomass productivity.This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright