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Kelp Forest Canopy Light Competition

Interactive 3D model of self-shading inside a kelp forest: each stipe grows toward the surface, taller fronds attenuate light for shorter ones via the Beer-Lambert law, and shaded plants below their light-compensation point die back and are replaced -- driving canopy stratification and self-thinning.

Ecology & Conservation Biology3DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

A stand of kelp stipes grows toward the sea surface, each one racing its neighbors for light. Taller fronds spread a canopy disc that attenuates sunlight for anything shorter and nearby, following the same Beer-Lambert exponential light-extinction law that governs a forest canopy on land. Shorter stipes caught under that shade run a light deficit against their fixed respiration cost, and once a stipe has spent too long below its light-compensation point it dies back, making room for a new recruit. Adjust stand density, the canopy's extinction coefficient and the surface irradiance to watch a forest self-thin into a dominant canopy layer over a shaded understory — or fail to close a canopy at all when light is scarce.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive 3D model of self-shading inside a kelp forest: taller stipes attenuate light for shorter neighbors via the Beer-Lambert law, and stipes starved below their light-compensation point die back and are replaced, driving canopy stratification and self-thinning.

kelp forestcanopylight competitionself-thinningBeer-Lambert lawecology

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install