Constraining water limitation of photosynthesis in a crop growth model with sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence

Water fulfils key roles in maintaining a plant's biological activity. Water shortage induces stomatal closure, causing a reduction in photosynthesis and transpiration rates. Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) emission is sensitive to subtle, stress-induced variations in non-photochemical quenching and in photosynthetic electron transport, caused by e.g., a fluctuation in the water availability. Based on this sensitivity, a framework for calibrating a water stress function in a crop growth model using ground-based SIF observations is proposed. SIF time series are simulated by coupling the AgroC crop growth model to the Soil Canopy Observations Photosynthesis Energy (SCOPE) model. This allowed parametrizing the water stress function in the AgroC crop growth model, resulting in improved estimates of actual evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange over a sugar beet stand during stressed periods. The improvement in the estimation of the water and carbon fluxes by AgroC during the summer months highlights the ability of canopyscale SIF observations to serve as a remote sensing metric to indicate the intensity of a stress condition. We argue that our framework, linking SIF emission to stress functions, can be used to extract information concerning drought stress from the Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite, scheduled for launch in 2024.

Automated summary

Water plays a key role in maintaining a plant's biological activity. A framework linking SIF emission to stress functions can improve estimates of actual evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange over crops during stressed periods. The ability of canopyscale SIF observations to indicate the intensity of stress conditions highlights the potential for using the Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite to extract information concerning drought stress.