Coconut palms continue to produce roots from the base of the stem throughout their lives. The number of roots produced depends on the age of the tree and the environment, with more than 3,600 roots possible on a tree that is 60 to 70 years old.
Albedo (/Ã¦lËbiËdoÊ/) is the whiteness of a surface. It is a reflection coefficient, and has a value of less than one. Albedo is derived from Latin albedo whiteness (or reflected sunlight) in turn from albus white, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. The albedo of a surface is the ratio of radiation reflected from the surface to the incident radiation. Its dimensionless nature lets it be expressed as a percentage and is measured on a scale from zero (no reflection) of a perfectly black surface to 1 for perfect reflection of a white surface.
When seen from a distance, the ocean surface has a low albedo, as do most forests, while desert areas have some of the highest albedos among landforms. Most land areas are in an albedo range of 0.1 to 0.4. The average albedo of the Earth is about 0.3. This is far higher than for the ocean primarily because of the contribution of clouds. Human activities have changed the albedo (via forest clearance and farming, for example) of various areas around the globe.