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Leaf fluorescence can be used to track plant development and stress, and is considered the most direct measurement of photosynthetic activity available from remote sensing techniques. Red and far-red sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) maps were generated from high spatial resolution images collected with the HyPlant airborne spectrometer over even-aged loblolly pine plantations in North Carolina (United States). Canopy fluorescence yield (i.e., the fluorescence flux normalized by the light absorbed) in the red and far-red peaks was computed. This quantifies the fluorescence emission efficiencies that are more directly linked to canopy function compared to SIF radiances. Fluorescence fluxes and yields were investigated in relation to tree age to infer new insights on the potential of those measurements in better describing ecosystem processes. The results showed that red fluorescence yield varies with stand age. Young stands exhibited a nearly twofold higher red fluorescence yield than mature forest plantations, while the far-red fluorescence yield remained constant. We interpreted this finding in a context of photosynthetic stomatal limitation in aging loblolly pine stands. Current and future satellite missions provide global datasets of SIF at coarse spatial resolution, resulting in intrapixel mixture effects, which could be a confounding factor for fluorescence signal interpretation. To mitigate this effect, we propose a surrogate of the fluorescence yield, namely the Canopy Cover Fluorescence Index (CCFI) that accounts for the spatial variability in canopy structure by exploiting the vegetation fractional cover. It was found that spatial aggregation tended to mask the effective relationships, while the CCFI was still able to maintain this link. This study is a first attempt in interpreting the fluorescence variability in aging forest stands and it may open new perspectives in understanding long-term forest dynamics in response to future climatic conditions from remote sensing of SIF., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Estimates of the gross terrestrial carbon uptake exhibit large uncertainties. Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) has an apparent near-linear relationship with gross primary production (GPP). This relationship will potentially facilitate the monitoring of photosynthesis from space. However, the exact mechanistic connection between SIF and GPP is still not clear. To explore the physical and physiological basis for their relationship, we used a unique data set comprising continuous field measurements of leaf and canopy fluorescence and photosynthesis of corn over a growing season. We found that, at canopy scale, the positive relationship between SIF and GPP was dominated by absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), which was equally affected by variations in incoming radiation and changes in canopy structure. After statistically controlling these underlying physical effects, the remaining correlation between far-red SIF and GPP due solely to the functional link between fluorescence and photosynthesis at the photochemical level was much weaker (ρ=0.30). Active leaf level fluorescence measurements revealed a moderate positive correlation between the efficiencies of fluorescence emission and photochemistry for sunlit leaves in well-illuminated conditions but a weak negative correlation in the low-light condition, which was negligible for shaded leaves. Differentiating sunlit and shaded leaves in the light use efficiency (LUE) models for SIF and GPP facilitates a better understanding of the SIF–GPP relationship at different environmental and canopy conditions. Leaf level fluorescence measurements also demonstrated that the sustained thermal dissipation efficiency dominated the seasonal energy partitioning, while the reversible heat dissipation dominated the diurnal leaf energy partitioning. These diurnal and seasonal variations in heat dissipation underlie, and are thus responsible for, the observed remote-sensing-based link between far-red SIF and GPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a critical need for sensitive remote sensing approaches to monitor the parameters governing photosynthesis, at the temporal scales relevant to their natural dynamics. The photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and chlorophyll fluorescence (F) offer a strong potential for monitoring photosynthesis at local, regional, and global scales, however the relationships between photosynthesis and solar induced F (SIF) on diurnal and seasonal scales are not fully understood. This study examines how the fine spatial and temporal scale SIF observations relate to leaf level chlorophyll fluorescence metrics (i.e., PSII yield, YII and electron transport rate, ETR), canopy gross primary productivity (GPP), and PRI. The results contribute to enhancing the understanding of how SIF can be used to monitor canopy photosynthesis. This effort captured the seasonal and diurnal variation in GPP, reflectance, F, and SIF in the O2A (SIFA) and O2B (SIFB) atmospheric bands for corn (Zea mays L.) at a study site in Greenbelt, MD. Positive linear relationships of SIF to canopy GPP and to leaf ETR were documented, corroborating published reports. Our findings demonstrate that canopy SIF metrics are able to capture the dynamics in photosynthesis at both leaf and canopy levels, and show that the relationship between GPP and SIF metrics differs depending on the light conditions (i.e., above or below saturation level for photosynthesis). The sum of SIFA and SIFB (SIFA+B), as well as the SIFA+B yield, captured the dynamics in GPP and light use efficiency, suggesting the importance of including SIFB in monitoring photosynthetic function. Further efforts are required to determine if these findings will scale successfully to airborne and satellite levels, and to document the effects of data uncertainties on the scaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]