ABSTRACT
Quantiœcation of vegetation physiology and phenology, including the rate of gas exchange with the atmosphere, can be achieved by accurate measurements of the pigments present in plant leaves that play very important role in plant photosynthesis and protection. There are three major classes of pigments found in plants: chlorophylls, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. The chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b are essential pigments for the conversion of light energy to
6.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 141 6.2 Background ........................................................................................................................... 143
6.2.1 Chlorophylls .............................................................................................................. 143 6.2.2 Carotenoids ............................................................................................................... 143 6.2.3 Anthocyanins ............................................................................................................ 144
6.3 Spectral Features of Leaf ReŸectance .................................................................................. 144 6.4 Conceptual Three-Band Model ............................................................................................ 150 6.5 Estimation of Leaf Pigment Content .................................................................................... 152
6.5.1 Chlorophyll ............................................................................................................... 152 6.5.1.1 Spectral Bands Tuning ............................................................................... 152 6.5.1.2 Model Performance .................................................................................... 154
6.5.2 Carotenoids ............................................................................................................... 156 6.5.2.1 Spectral Bands Tuning ............................................................................... 156 6.5.2.2 Model Performance .................................................................................... 157
6.5.3 Anthocyanins ............................................................................................................ 158 6.5.3.1 Spectral Bands Tuning ............................................................................... 158 6.5.3.2 Model Performance .................................................................................... 160
6.6 Conclusions and Future Prospects ........................................................................................ 162 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 162 References ...................................................................................................................................... 162
stored chemical energy. The amount of solar radiation absorbed by a leaf is a function of the photosynthetic pigment content; thus, chlorophyll content can directly determine photosynthetic potential and primary production [1,2]. In addition, chlorophylls give an indirect estimation of the nutrient status because much of leaf nitrogen is incorporated in chlorophyll [2]. Furthermore, leaf chlorophyll content is indicative and closely related to plant stress and senescence [3-5].
