Leaf wetness sensors

When precipitation comes into contact with vegetation, leaf wetting events are an inevitable consequence. However, the duration of leaf wetting is determined not only by the duration of the precipitation process (rain, dew), but also by various atmospheric parameters that regulate evaporation. Furthermore, the interception capacity, which depends on the leaf surface structure, is important because it determines the maximum amount of water that can accumulate on a leaf before it begins to drip off.
Wetting processes play an important role in micrometeorology as well as in phytopathology and ecology; on the one hand, the intercepted water represents a missing input for the soil water supply, which has an impact on the water balance and thus on the transpiration behavior of plants.