Entropy budgets of soybean and bur oak leaves at night

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
From energy budgets of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Chippewa] and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) leaves at night, entropy fluxes into or out of leaves are calculated. The absorbed entropy balances with the emitted entropy; this is not the case for leaves during the day and for an animal at night. On the assumption that the entropy in leaves is at steady state, entropy production in leaves becomes small and almost zero. Since entropy production is a measure of activity in organisms, the activity in leaves is small at night; this is in contrast to leaves during the day. Thus, a large portion of the activity in leaves is “on” in the daytime and “off” at night. Most of the activity in leaves may be triggered by solar radiation.