Abstract
A portable chlorophyll meter can be an important tool to estimating chlorophyll contents in leaves of tree species under field conditions. The method is quick and non-destructive compared to the classic chemical methods of pigment extraction. The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of a portable chlorophyll meter (CCM-200, Opti-Science) to estimate the concentrations of chloroplastid pigments and the fraction of photosynthetically active irradiance absorbed by leaves (α) in four tropical wood species from Amazonian forest. The results shown positive correlation between the chlorophyll contente index (CCI) readings and concentrations of Chl a (P < 0.0001; r² = 0.904), Chl b (P< 0.0001; r² = 0.803), Chl tot (P< 0.0001; r² = 0.923) and α (P< 0.0001; r² = 0.886), suggesting that the portable chlorophyll meter can be an effective tool for the relative estimation of chlorophyll concentrations and the fraction of the photosynthetically active irradiance absorbed by the leaves of tropical tree species.
Highlights
Among the factors related to the photosynthetic efficiency of plants and, their growth and adaptability to environments of high luminosity, the concentration and composition of chloroplastid pigments are two factors of particular importance (Marini 1986, Thiele et al 1998)
This work aimed to evaluate the relationship between the portable chlorophyll meter readings and the chloroplastid pigments concentrations as well as the fraction of photosythetically active irradiance absorbed by the leaves (α) in tropical tree species from Amazonian forest
The readings of chlorophyll content index (CCI) in leaves were carried with a portable chlorophyll meter (Opti-Science model CCM-200) in healthily and fully expanded leaves
Summary
Among the factors related to the photosynthetic efficiency of plants and, their growth and adaptability to environments of high luminosity, the concentration and composition of chloroplastid pigments are two factors of particular importance (Marini 1986, Thiele et al 1998). Chlorophyll contents are determined using chemical methods. These methods evolved a pigment extraction with organic solvents, spectrophotometric readings in order to obtain absorbance values of pigment extracted solution (Lichtenthaler & Wellburn 1983, Porra et al 1989, Wellburn 1994) and conversion of the absorbance values to concentration using well known model equations in the literature (Hendry & Price 1993). The chemical method of chlorophyll extraction is a destructive and rather painstaking process. Non-destructive optical methods have been developed for measurement and estimation of chlorophyll concentrations in leaves. Optical methods express relative values of chlorophyll
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
