Rapid assessment of stress effects on plant leaves by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements

Abstract

Chlorophyll fluorescence serves as an intrinsic indicator of the photosynthetic reactions in the chloroplasts of green plants. The relationship between chlorophyll fluorescence and the mechanisms of photosynthesis have been the subject of a great number of investigations, since Kautsky discovered (Kautsky and Hirsch 1931) that fluorescence intensity in green leaves displays characteristic changes upon illumination (Kautsky effect - for reviews, see Papageorgiou 1975; Lavorel and Etienne 1977; Krause and Weis 1984). For almost half a century fluorescence has been mainly a tool for biophysically oriented researchers in studies of the primary processes of photosynthesis. Practical applications of the Kautsky effect in ecophysiological work had been limited by the availability of suitable instrumentation and by the complexity of the fluorescence information obtained in vivo. In recent years considerable efforts have been put into the development of field oriented fluorescence equipment and into the development of the methodology for analysing fluorescence data from intact leaves.