Garden with Insight v1.0 Help: slope

The slope of a line is the degree to which it deviates from a horizontal axis. The slope (often written as m) of a straight line is calculated as the change in the vertical coordinate (Y) over the length of the line divided by the change in the horizontal coordinate (X) over the length of the line (m = delta Y / delta X).

In this simulation 'slope' is used in the same way. For example, the leaf area index (LAI) curve during a plant's life has a changing slope which increases for some time then decreases with senescence. The slope of a soil patch is the deviation of its surface from absolutely horizontal. For example, a 5% slope (or a slope of 0.05) means that the height between the lowest and highest points (the delta Y) is 5% of the length between the furthest horizontal extent (the delta X).