Leaf chlorophyll (Chl) concentration can be an indicator of plant health, including photosynthetic potential and nutrient status. In some cases, this measure can indicate the degree to which plants are water-stressed. Traditional methods of measuring Chl concentration have involved a destructive sampling technique: extraction and spectrophotometric analysis. A compatible nondestructive method to measure leaf Chl concentration exists and applies transmittance spectroscopy to plants with a Minolta SPAD-502 meter. These techniques were evaluated by comparing leaf Chl concentration in big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii). Leaves were sampled from plants representing three ecotypes (originating from Central Kansas, Eastern Kansas, and Illinois, USA) and two cultivars of A. gerardii growing in Hays, Kansas, USA. Leaf Chl concentration was measured using nondestructive and destructive techniques. We documented a saturating relationship between destructively measured leaf Chl concentration and SPAD index resulting from a decelerating change in SPAD index as Chl concentration increased. The comparison of A. gerardii ecotypes and cultivars demonstrated highest Chl concentration in the ecotype and cultivar from areas with historically low precipitation, Central Kansas and A. gerardii var. hallii, respectively. A high ratio of Chl a to Chl b is an index of drought adaptation and was also manifested in A. gerardii from drier regions. Thus, drought-adapted ecotypes and cultivars might be able to maintain high photosynthetic productivity and protect photosystem II during dry periods. Conversely, the ecotypes and cultivar originating from areas with higher precipitation had lower leaf Chl and a lower Chl a/b ratio., K. L. Caudle, L. C. Johnson, S. G. Baer, B. R. Maricle., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The effects of salinity (sea water at 0 ‰ versus 30 ‰) on gross rates of O2 evolution (JO2) and net rates of CO2 uptake (PN) were measured in the halotolerant estuarine C4 grasses Spartina patens, S. alterniflora, S. densiflora, and Distichlis spicata in controlled growth environments. Under high irradiance, salinity had no significant effect on the intercellular to ambient CO2 concentration ratio (Ci/Ca). However, during photosynthesis under limiting irradiance, the maximum quantum efficiency of CO2 fixation decreased under salinity across species, suggesting there is increased leakage of the CO2 delivered to the bundle sheath cells by the C4 pump. Growth under salinity did not affect the maximum intrinsic efficiency of photosystem 2, PS2 (FV/FM) in these species, suggesting salinity had no effect on photosynthesis by inactivation of PS2 reaction centers. Under saline conditions and high irradiance, PN was reduced by 75 % in Spartina patens and S. alterniflora, whereas salinity had no effect on PN in S. densiflora or D. spicata. This inhibition of PN in S. patens and S. alterniflora was not due to an effect on stomatal conductance since the ratio of
Ci/Ca did not decrease under saline conditions. In growth with and without salt, PN was saturated at -500 µmol(quantum) m-2 s-1 while JO2 continued to increase up to full sunlight, indicating that carbon assimilation was not tightly coupled to photochemistry in these halophytic species. This increase in alternative electron flow under high irradiance might be an inherent function in these halophytes for dissipating excess energy. and B. R. Maricle ... [et al.].