Table 1.

List of abbreviations

Symbol	Definition	Unit
k en	Extinction coefficient for effective leaf nitrogen	m2 ground m–2 leaf
k tn	Extinction coefficient for total leaf nitrogen	m2 ground m–2 leaf
k r	Extinction coefficient for PAR	m2 ground m–2 leaf
L	Leaf area index	m2 leaf m–2 ground
L i	L counted from the top to the i‐th layer of canopy	m2 leaf m–2 ground
L opt	Optimum L for maximal canopy photosynthesis	m2 leaf m–2 ground
n	The amount of nitrogen per unit leaf area	g N m–2 leaf
n n̄	The average value of n in canopy	g N m–2 leaf
n b	The base value of n for photosynthesis	g N m–2 leaf
n bot	n for the bottom leaves of canopy	g N m–2 leaf
n i	n for the i‐th layer leaves from the top of canopy	g N m–2 leaf
n o	n for the top leaves of canopy	g N m–2 leaf
N	Canopy nitrogen content	g N m–2 ground
P max	Leaf photosynthesis under saturated light conditions	e.g. g CO2 m–2 leaf s–1
s la	Specific leaf area	m2 leaf g–1 leaf mass
Δnbot	Rate of change in nbot	g N m–2 leaf d–1
ΔL	Rate of change in L	m2 leaf m–2ground d–1
ΔN	Rate of change in N	g N m–2 ground d–1
Δt	Time step in dynamic simulation	d