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What is the difference between “canopy cover” and “crown closure”?

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What is the difference between “canopy cover” and “crown closure”?

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}}–> }}–>A7. These terms are often used interchangeably, but unfortunately, they are not the same at all. }}–> }}–>Canopy cover is a physical measurement of the average fraction of the horizontal ground surface occupied by the horizontal projection of the tree crowns. It is largely unrelated to “crown closure” which is an ecological term describing the development of a forest stand. A stand can reach 100% crown closure (where no other individual trees can squeeze into the canopy) and still remain at 50% canopy cover. It would be extremely rare for a stand to have 100% canopy cover. Canopy cover is the measurement needed for FARSITE because it is used to compute wind reduction (via filling fraction of the crown space) and shading. You will get too much wind reduction and shading if you base your canopy cover input on crown closure.

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