Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters
Abstract A wide range of portable chlorophyll meters are increasingly being used to measure leaf chlorophyll content as an indicator of plant performance, providing reference data for remote sensing studies. We tested the effect of leaf anatomy on the relationship between optical assessments of chlo...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84052-5 |
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| author | Zuzana Lhotáková Eva Neuwirthová Markéta Potůčková Lucie Červená Lena Hunt Lucie Kupková Petr Lukeš Petya Campbell Jana Albrechtová |
| author_facet | Zuzana Lhotáková Eva Neuwirthová Markéta Potůčková Lucie Červená Lena Hunt Lucie Kupková Petr Lukeš Petya Campbell Jana Albrechtová |
| author_sort | Zuzana Lhotáková |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract A wide range of portable chlorophyll meters are increasingly being used to measure leaf chlorophyll content as an indicator of plant performance, providing reference data for remote sensing studies. We tested the effect of leaf anatomy on the relationship between optical assessments of chlorophyll (Chl) against biochemically determined Chl content as a reference. Optical Chl assessments included measurements taken by four chlorophyll meters: three transmittance-based (SPAD-502, Dualex-4 Scientific, and MultispeQ 2.0), one fluorescence-based (CCM-300), and vegetation indices calculated from the 400–2500 nm leaf reflectance acquired using an ASD FieldSpec and a contact plant probe. Three leaf types with different anatomy were included: dorsiventral laminar leaves, grass leaves, and needles. On laminar leaves, all instruments performed well for chlorophyll content estimation (R2 > 0.80, nRMSE < 15%), regardless of the variation in their specific internal structure (mesomorphic, scleromorphic, or scleromorphic with hypodermis), similarly to the performance of four reflectance indices (R2 > 0.90, nRMSE < 16%). For grasses, the model to predict chlorophyll content across multiple species had low performance with CCM-300 (R2 = 0.45, nRMSE = 11%) and failed for SPAD. For Norway spruce needles, the relation of CCM-300 values to chlorophyll content was also weak (R2 = 0.45, nRMSE = 11%). To improve the accuracy of data used for remote sensing algorithm development, we recommend calibration of chlorophyll meter measurements with biochemical assessments, especially for species with anatomy other than laminar dicot leaves. The take-home message is that portable chlorophyll meters perform well for laminar leaves and grasses with wider leaves, however, their accuracy is limited for conifer needles and narrow grass leaves. Species-specific calibrations are necessary to account for anatomical variations, and adjustments in sampling protocols may be required to improve measurement reliability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aea9aa2432004193aeefcbdf260658ec |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-aea9aa2432004193aeefcbdf260658ec2025-01-19T12:17:28ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111810.1038/s41598-024-84052-5Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll metersZuzana Lhotáková0Eva Neuwirthová1Markéta Potůčková2Lucie Červená3Lena Hunt4Lucie Kupková5Petr Lukeš6Petya Campbell7Jana Albrechtová8Department of Plant Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityDepartment of Plant Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityDepartment of Applied Geoinformatics and Cartography, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityDepartment of Applied Geoinformatics and Cartography, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityDepartment of Plant Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityDepartment of Applied Geoinformatics and Cartography, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityGlobal Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of SciencesUniversity of Maryland Baltimore County and NASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterDepartment of Plant Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityAbstract A wide range of portable chlorophyll meters are increasingly being used to measure leaf chlorophyll content as an indicator of plant performance, providing reference data for remote sensing studies. We tested the effect of leaf anatomy on the relationship between optical assessments of chlorophyll (Chl) against biochemically determined Chl content as a reference. Optical Chl assessments included measurements taken by four chlorophyll meters: three transmittance-based (SPAD-502, Dualex-4 Scientific, and MultispeQ 2.0), one fluorescence-based (CCM-300), and vegetation indices calculated from the 400–2500 nm leaf reflectance acquired using an ASD FieldSpec and a contact plant probe. Three leaf types with different anatomy were included: dorsiventral laminar leaves, grass leaves, and needles. On laminar leaves, all instruments performed well for chlorophyll content estimation (R2 > 0.80, nRMSE < 15%), regardless of the variation in their specific internal structure (mesomorphic, scleromorphic, or scleromorphic with hypodermis), similarly to the performance of four reflectance indices (R2 > 0.90, nRMSE < 16%). For grasses, the model to predict chlorophyll content across multiple species had low performance with CCM-300 (R2 = 0.45, nRMSE = 11%) and failed for SPAD. For Norway spruce needles, the relation of CCM-300 values to chlorophyll content was also weak (R2 = 0.45, nRMSE = 11%). To improve the accuracy of data used for remote sensing algorithm development, we recommend calibration of chlorophyll meter measurements with biochemical assessments, especially for species with anatomy other than laminar dicot leaves. The take-home message is that portable chlorophyll meters perform well for laminar leaves and grasses with wider leaves, however, their accuracy is limited for conifer needles and narrow grass leaves. Species-specific calibrations are necessary to account for anatomical variations, and adjustments in sampling protocols may be required to improve measurement reliability.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84052-5ChlorophyllLeaf structureLeaf pigmentsLeaf with hypodermisVegetation indexRemote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Zuzana Lhotáková Eva Neuwirthová Markéta Potůčková Lucie Červená Lena Hunt Lucie Kupková Petr Lukeš Petya Campbell Jana Albrechtová Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters Scientific Reports Chlorophyll Leaf structure Leaf pigments Leaf with hypodermis Vegetation index Remote sensing |
| title | Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters |
| title_full | Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters |
| title_fullStr | Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters |
| title_short | Mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters |
| title_sort | mind the leaf anatomy while taking ground truth with portable chlorophyll meters |
| topic | Chlorophyll Leaf structure Leaf pigments Leaf with hypodermis Vegetation index Remote sensing |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84052-5 |
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