Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between spectral indices (the normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI] and photochemical reflectance index [PRI]) and the photosynthetic capacities based on chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm ) of moss‐, lichen‐ and cyanobacteria‐dominated biological soil crusts collected from the Gurbantonggut Desert, Xinjiang, China, based on a liquid–water hydration experiment. While no photosynthetic activity was detected for dry crusts, hydrated crusts showed significantly higher Fv/Fm values than dry crusts. A significant correlation between the PRI and Fv/Fm was found in moss‐ and lichen‐dominated crusts, and the determination coefficients were higher than those between the NDVI and Fv/Fm .
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