Environmental stress - what can we learn from chlorophyll a fluorescence analysis in woody plants? A review

Abstract

Chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChF) signal analysis has become a widely used and rapid, non-invasive technique to study the photosynthetic process under stress conditions. It monitors plant responses to various environmental factors affecting plants under experimental and field conditions. Thus, it enables extensive research in ecology and benefits forestry, agriculture, horticulture, and arboriculture. Woody plants, especially trees, as organisms with a considerable life span, have a different life strategy than herbaceous plants and show more complex responses to stress. The range of changes in photosynthetic efficiency of trees depends on their age, ontogeny, species-specific characteristics, and acclimation ability. This review compiles the results of the most commonly used ChF techniques at the foliar scale. We describe the results of experimental studies to identify stress factors that affect photosynthetic efficiency and analyse the experience of assessing tree vigour in natural and human-modified environments. We discuss both the circumstances under which ChF can be successfully used to assess woody plant health and the ChF parameters that can be useful in field research. Finally, we summarise the advantages and limitations of the ChF method in research on trees, shrubs, and woody vines.

Season-dependent physiological behavior of Miscanthus x giganteus growing on heavy-metal contaminated areas in relation to soil properties

“…After removing the actinic light, minimal fluorescence level at the light adapted state was determined by illuminating the leaf with a 3 s pulse of far-red light. Maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry in the dark-adapted state ( F v / F m ), photochemical quenching (qP), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and operational efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Φ PSII ) were calculated on the basis of the above-mentioned parameters according to Swoczyna et al [ 36 ].…”

Timely estimation of leaf chlorophyll fluorescence parameters under varying light regimes by coupling light drivers to leaf traits

“…There were some differences in different leaf groups. Especially for the sunlit leaves, Chl, Car, and CCR also significantly affected the ФP, Apparently, the use of biochemical/morphological trait relationships is unable to track ChlF parameters in a timely manner due to the rapid responses of ChlF to the environment (Swoczyna et al, 2022).…”

“…Apparently, the use of biochemical/morphological trait relationships is unable to track ChlF parameters in a timely manner due to the rapid responses of ChlF to the environment (Swoczyna et al, 2022). In comparison, the inclusion of light drivers not only improved the performance of trait‐based regressions but also demonstrated the pivotal role of light conditions in tracing the dynamics of ChlF parameters.…”

“…NPQ has evolved to dissipate excess energy and has always been used to protect the photosynthetic apparatus from photodamage (Müller et al, 2001; Murchie and Ruban, 2020; Ruban, 2016) because sunlight damages the photosynthetic machinery and causes photoinhibition, which can limit the photosynthetic activity of plants. These parameters are related to the dynamics of photosynthesis and respond rapidly to environmental influences (Cendrero‐Mateo et al, 2015; Greer, 2015; Swoczyna et al, 2022). Therefore, the timely information associated with these ChlF parameters should help to characterize the dynamics of photosynthetic activity at large scales and enhance the capacity to monitor and assess the impact of environmental conditions on vegetation productivity promptly.…”

Salt Stress Inhibits Photosynthesis and Destroys Chloroplast Structure by Downregulating Chloroplast Development–Related Genes in Robinia pseudoacacia Seedlings

“…Photosynthesis, as the source of energy for plant growth and development, is the most basic and critical physiological process in green plants [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Salt stress seriously affects photosynthesis in plants [ 18 , 19 ]. Large amounts of Na + and Cl − in the leaves leads to water loss from guard cells and therefore to changes in guard cell and stomata morphology, activity, and/or density numbers, which can reduce or prevent CO 2 entry and limit normal photosynthesis [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”