Journal
TREE PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 38, Issue 9, Pages 1302-1318Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpx161
Keywords
constitutive heat dissipation; electron transport rate; LIFT; non-photochemical quenching; PAM; photosynthetically active radiation; sunfleck
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Funding
- Australian Research Council (ARC) [DP140101488]
- ARC [LE.0775666]
- Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship
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Understanding the net photosynthesis of plant canopies requires quantifying photosynthesis in challenging environments, principally due to the variable light intensities and qualities generated by sunlight interactions with clouds and surrounding foliage. The dynamics of sunflecks and rates of change in light intensity at the beginning and end of sustained light (SL) events makes photosynthetic measurements difficult, especially when dealing with less accessible parts of plant foliage. High time resolved photosynthetic monitoring from pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometers has limited applicability due to the invasive nature of frequently applied saturating flashes. An alternative approach used here provides remote (<5m), high time resolution (10 s), PAM equivalent but minimally invasive measurements of photosynthetic parameters. We assessed the efficacy of the Q(A) flash protocol from the Light-Induced Fluorescence Transient (LIFT) technique for monitoring photosynthesis in mature outer canopy leaves of potted Persea americana Mill. cv. Haas (Avocado) trees in a semi-controlled environment and outdoors. Initially we established that LIFT measurements were leaf angle independent between +/- 40 degrees from perpendicular and moreover, that estimates of 685 nm reflectance (R-685) from leaves of similar chlorophyll content provide a species dependent, but reasonable proxy for incident light intensity. Photosynthetic responses during brief light events (<= 10 min), and the initial stages of SL events, showed similar declines in the quantum yield of photosystem II (phi(II)) with large transient increases in 'constitutive loss processes' (phi(NO)) prior to dissipation of excitation by non-photochemical quenching (phi(NPQ)). Our results demonstrate the capacity of LIFT to monitor photosynthesis at a distance during highly dynamic light conditions that potentially may improve models of canopy photosynthesis and estimates of plant productivity. For example, generalized additive modelling performed on the 85 dynamic light events monitored identified negative relationships between light event length and.FII and.electron transport rate using either.photosynthetically active radiation or Delta R-685 as indicators of leaf irradiance.
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