Non-destructive detection of water stress and estimation of relative water content in maize

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 36; no. 12; pp. L12403 - n/a
• Main Authors: Zygielbaum, Arthur I., Gitelson, Anatoly A., Arkebauer, Timothy J., Rundquist, Donald C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Geophysical Union 01-06-2009; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Albedo; Bio-optics; Biogeosciences; Corn; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Geobiology; Leaves; non-destructive; Remote sensing; Water; Water content; Water deficit; water status; Water stress; Water/energy interactions; Wavelengths; remote sensing; water status; non-destructive; experimental studies; wavelength; stress; detection; Photosynthetically active radiation; chlorophyll; vegetation; concentration; Water stress; productivity; water content; Visible spectrum; albedo; Reflectance
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2009GL038906

Non‐destructive estimation of leaf water content provides vital information about vegetation productivity. We report here on controlled seven day experiments using greenhouse‐grown maize. Fifty plants were randomly assigned to two equal groups: water stressed and well watered. Spectroscopic, relative water content (RWC), and chlorophyll concentration measurements were made daily. Because water molecules absorb radiation in near‐ and middle‐infrared, most efforts to sense water deficit remotely utilize infrared wavelengths. In these experiments, we identified a strong, systematic, and repeatable relationship between photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) albedo and leaf RWC. We show that visible spectrum reflectance provides a means to detect early stages of plant stress and estimate leaf RWC.