The production, survivorship and death of cohorts of leaves within the canopies of three clones (Salix burjatica ''Korso'', S. viminalis ''Mullatin'' and S. x dasyclados) of willow grown as short-rotation coppice were studied in a field experiment. The initial rate of increase in leaf number was fastest for ''Mullatin'', which also had the steepest rate of decline in net leaf number. Inter-clonal variability was not reduced by plotting changes in leaf number against thermal time, accumulated above 0-degrees-C. Mean number of leaves was highest for ''Mullatin'' and least for ''Korso''. Leaf production occurred in flushes and there were no significant clonal differences in the relative rate of leaf birth: differences in relative rate of leaf death (r(d)) became apparent after day number 230 (1 Jan = 1); thereafter ''Korso'' had higher values of r(d) than the other clones. The time course of r(d) was summarised by a logistic curve and there was no evidence that the initial asymptote nor the maximal rate of change of r(d) differed between clones. Leaves of ''Korso'' had minimum and maximum longevities of about 25 days (or about 250-degrees-Cd in thermal time) and 65 days (about 1000-degrees-Cd), respectively; minimum leaf longevities for the other two clones were similar to that for ''Korso'' but their leaves lived for up to 100 days (about 1400-degrees-Cd). Changes in the age-structure of the leaf populations with time were little influenced by differences in leaf demography between clones. A positive and significant correlation was found between the rate of production of leaves and temperature up to about 14-degrees-C. Thereafter, the correlation was either absent or negative. Results are interpreted in terms of the consequences of differences in canopy demography for coppice biomass production.