Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF): Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods

Christine Y. Chang; Jiaming Wen; Jimei Han; Oz Kira; Julie LeVonne; Jeffrey Melkonian; Susan J. Riha; Joseph Skovira; Sharon Ng; Lianhong Gu; Jeffrey D. Wood; Paul Näthe; Ying Sun

doi:10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672

Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF): Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods

Christine Y. Chang, Jiaming Wen, Jimei Han, Oz Kira, Julie LeVonne, Jeffrey Melkonian, Susan J. Riha, Joseph Skovira, Sharon Ng, Lianhong Gu, Jeffrey D. Wood, Paul Näthe, Ying Sun

Ecosystem Processes

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from spaceborne sensors is a promising tool for global carbon cycle monitoring, but its application is constrained by insufficient understanding of the drivers underlying diurnal SIF dynamics. SIF measurements from ground-based towers can reveal diurnal SIF dynamics across biomes and environmental conditions; however, meaningful interpretation of diurnal variations requires disentangling impacts from canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods, which often interact with and confound each other. This study aims to unpack these drivers using 1) concurrent ground and airborne canopy-scale and leaf-scale measurements at a corn field, 2) a mechanistic SIF model that explicitly considers the dynamics of photochemistry (via the fraction of open photosystem II reaction centers, qL) and photoprotection (via nonphotochemical quenching, NPQ) as well as their interactive dependence on the sub-canopy light environment, and 3) cross-comparison of SIF instrument configurations and retrieval methods. We found that crop row orientations and sun angles can introduce a distinctive midday dip in SIF in absence of stress, due to a midday drop of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) when crop rows are north-south oriented. Canopy structure caused distinctive responses in both qL and NPQ at different positions within the vertical canopy that collectively influenced fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_F) at the leaf scale. Once integrated at the canopy scale, diurnal dynamics of both APAR and canopy escape probability (ε) are critical for accurately shaping diurnal SIF variations. While leaf-level qL and NPQ exhibited strong diurnal dynamics, their influence was attenuated at the canopy scale due to opposing effects on SIF at different canopy layers. Furthermore, different system configurations (i.e., bi-hemispherical vs. hemispherical-conical) and retrieval methods can bias the SIF magnitude and distort its diurnal shapes, therefore confounding the interpretation of inherent strength and dynamics of SIF emission. Our findings demonstrate the importance of crop row structures, interactive variations in canopy structure and plant physiology, instrument configuration, and retrieval method in shaping the measured dynamics of diurnal SIF. This study highlights the necessity to account for these factors to accurately interpret satellite SIF, and informs future synthesis work with different SIF instrumentation and retrieval methods across sites.

Original language	English
Article number	112672
Journal	Remote Sensing of Environment
Volume	265
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672
State	Published - Nov 2021

Funding

This work was supported by USDA-NIFA grant ( 2018-67012-27985 ), NSF Macrosystem Biology (Award 1926488 ), USDA-NIFA Hatch Fund ( 1014740 ), and the Cornell Initiative for Digital Agriculture Research Innovation Fund . C. Chang acknowledges support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service . L. Gu and J.D. Wood acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research Program, Climate and Environmental Sciences Division through Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) Science Focus Area (SFA). Field measurements with FloX units were carried out under lead management and funding of the European Space Agency (ESA) in the frame of AtmoFLEX ( 4000122454/17/NL/FF/mg ). The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Longlong Yu, Ruiqing Zhou, Cong Wang, Yangyang Fan and Xu Shan for collection of field data at CMRF, the expertise and support of Paul Stachowski and Jeff Stayton at CMRF for farm management, and the support of Andreas Burkart, Tommaso Julitta, and Uwe Rascher for installations and data curation of FloX at GROS and JULI. Data from CMRF and MOFLUX sites are available from the Cornell University eCommons Repository at https://doi.org/10.7298/mqfk-hs97. Data from GROS and JULI sites are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5286019. This work was supported by USDA-NIFA grant (2018-67012-27985), NSF Macrosystem Biology (Award 1926488), USDA-NIFA Hatch Fund (1014740), and the Cornell Initiative for Digital Agriculture Research Innovation Fund. C. Chang acknowledges support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. L. Gu and J.D. Wood acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research Program, Climate and Environmental Sciences Division through Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) Science Focus Area (SFA). Field measurements with FloX units were carried out under lead management and funding of the European Space Agency (ESA) in the frame of AtmoFLEX (4000122454/17/NL/FF/mg). The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Longlong Yu, Ruiqing Zhou, Cong Wang, Yangyang Fan and Xu Shan for collection of field data at CMRF, the expertise and support of Paul Stachowski and Jeff Stayton at CMRF for farm management, and the support of Andreas Burkart, Tommaso Julitta, and Uwe Rascher for installations and data curation of FloX at GROS and JULI. Data from CMRF and MOFLUX sites are available from the Cornell University eCommons Repository at https://doi.org/10.7298/mqfk-hs97. Data from GROS and JULI sites are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5286019.

Keywords

Canopy structure
Crop row orientation
Diurnal SIF dynamics
Mechanistic SIF model
Plant physiology
SIF instrumentation
SIF retrieval
Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)

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Chang, C. Y., Wen, J., Han, J., Kira, O., LeVonne, J., Melkonian, J., Riha, S. J., Skovira, J., Ng, S., Gu, L., Wood, J. D., Näthe, P., & Sun, Y. (2021). Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF): Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods. Remote Sensing of Environment, 265, Article 112672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672

@article{00bbc6d59427471da8553abf5a3bfdef,

title = "Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF): Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods",

abstract = "Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from spaceborne sensors is a promising tool for global carbon cycle monitoring, but its application is constrained by insufficient understanding of the drivers underlying diurnal SIF dynamics. SIF measurements from ground-based towers can reveal diurnal SIF dynamics across biomes and environmental conditions; however, meaningful interpretation of diurnal variations requires disentangling impacts from canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods, which often interact with and confound each other. This study aims to unpack these drivers using 1) concurrent ground and airborne canopy-scale and leaf-scale measurements at a corn field, 2) a mechanistic SIF model that explicitly considers the dynamics of photochemistry (via the fraction of open photosystem II reaction centers, qL) and photoprotection (via nonphotochemical quenching, NPQ) as well as their interactive dependence on the sub-canopy light environment, and 3) cross-comparison of SIF instrument configurations and retrieval methods. We found that crop row orientations and sun angles can introduce a distinctive midday dip in SIF in absence of stress, due to a midday drop of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) when crop rows are north-south oriented. Canopy structure caused distinctive responses in both qL and NPQ at different positions within the vertical canopy that collectively influenced fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF) at the leaf scale. Once integrated at the canopy scale, diurnal dynamics of both APAR and canopy escape probability (ε) are critical for accurately shaping diurnal SIF variations. While leaf-level qL and NPQ exhibited strong diurnal dynamics, their influence was attenuated at the canopy scale due to opposing effects on SIF at different canopy layers. Furthermore, different system configurations (i.e., bi-hemispherical vs. hemispherical-conical) and retrieval methods can bias the SIF magnitude and distort its diurnal shapes, therefore confounding the interpretation of inherent strength and dynamics of SIF emission. Our findings demonstrate the importance of crop row structures, interactive variations in canopy structure and plant physiology, instrument configuration, and retrieval method in shaping the measured dynamics of diurnal SIF. This study highlights the necessity to account for these factors to accurately interpret satellite SIF, and informs future synthesis work with different SIF instrumentation and retrieval methods across sites.",

keywords = "Canopy structure, Crop row orientation, Diurnal SIF dynamics, Mechanistic SIF model, Plant physiology, SIF instrumentation, SIF retrieval, Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)",

author = "Chang, \{Christine Y.\} and Jiaming Wen and Jimei Han and Oz Kira and Julie LeVonne and Jeffrey Melkonian and Riha, \{Susan J.\} and Joseph Skovira and Sharon Ng and Lianhong Gu and Wood, \{Jeffrey D.\} and Paul N{\"a}the and Ying Sun",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672",

language = "English",

volume = "265",

journal = "Remote Sensing of Environment",

issn = "0034-4257",

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}

Chang, CY, Wen, J, Han, J, Kira, O, LeVonne, J, Melkonian, J, Riha, SJ, Skovira, J, Ng, S, Gu, L, Wood, JD, Näthe, P & Sun, Y 2021, 'Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF): Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods', Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 265, 112672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672

TY - JOUR

T1 - Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)

T2 - Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods

AU - Chang, Christine Y.

AU - Wen, Jiaming

AU - Han, Jimei

AU - Kira, Oz

AU - LeVonne, Julie

AU - Melkonian, Jeffrey

AU - Riha, Susan J.

AU - Skovira, Joseph

AU - Ng, Sharon

AU - Gu, Lianhong

AU - Wood, Jeffrey D.

AU - Näthe, Paul

AU - Sun, Ying

PY - 2021/11

Y1 - 2021/11

N2 - Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from spaceborne sensors is a promising tool for global carbon cycle monitoring, but its application is constrained by insufficient understanding of the drivers underlying diurnal SIF dynamics. SIF measurements from ground-based towers can reveal diurnal SIF dynamics across biomes and environmental conditions; however, meaningful interpretation of diurnal variations requires disentangling impacts from canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods, which often interact with and confound each other. This study aims to unpack these drivers using 1) concurrent ground and airborne canopy-scale and leaf-scale measurements at a corn field, 2) a mechanistic SIF model that explicitly considers the dynamics of photochemistry (via the fraction of open photosystem II reaction centers, qL) and photoprotection (via nonphotochemical quenching, NPQ) as well as their interactive dependence on the sub-canopy light environment, and 3) cross-comparison of SIF instrument configurations and retrieval methods. We found that crop row orientations and sun angles can introduce a distinctive midday dip in SIF in absence of stress, due to a midday drop of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) when crop rows are north-south oriented. Canopy structure caused distinctive responses in both qL and NPQ at different positions within the vertical canopy that collectively influenced fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF) at the leaf scale. Once integrated at the canopy scale, diurnal dynamics of both APAR and canopy escape probability (ε) are critical for accurately shaping diurnal SIF variations. While leaf-level qL and NPQ exhibited strong diurnal dynamics, their influence was attenuated at the canopy scale due to opposing effects on SIF at different canopy layers. Furthermore, different system configurations (i.e., bi-hemispherical vs. hemispherical-conical) and retrieval methods can bias the SIF magnitude and distort its diurnal shapes, therefore confounding the interpretation of inherent strength and dynamics of SIF emission. Our findings demonstrate the importance of crop row structures, interactive variations in canopy structure and plant physiology, instrument configuration, and retrieval method in shaping the measured dynamics of diurnal SIF. This study highlights the necessity to account for these factors to accurately interpret satellite SIF, and informs future synthesis work with different SIF instrumentation and retrieval methods across sites.

AB - Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from spaceborne sensors is a promising tool for global carbon cycle monitoring, but its application is constrained by insufficient understanding of the drivers underlying diurnal SIF dynamics. SIF measurements from ground-based towers can reveal diurnal SIF dynamics across biomes and environmental conditions; however, meaningful interpretation of diurnal variations requires disentangling impacts from canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods, which often interact with and confound each other. This study aims to unpack these drivers using 1) concurrent ground and airborne canopy-scale and leaf-scale measurements at a corn field, 2) a mechanistic SIF model that explicitly considers the dynamics of photochemistry (via the fraction of open photosystem II reaction centers, qL) and photoprotection (via nonphotochemical quenching, NPQ) as well as their interactive dependence on the sub-canopy light environment, and 3) cross-comparison of SIF instrument configurations and retrieval methods. We found that crop row orientations and sun angles can introduce a distinctive midday dip in SIF in absence of stress, due to a midday drop of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) when crop rows are north-south oriented. Canopy structure caused distinctive responses in both qL and NPQ at different positions within the vertical canopy that collectively influenced fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF) at the leaf scale. Once integrated at the canopy scale, diurnal dynamics of both APAR and canopy escape probability (ε) are critical for accurately shaping diurnal SIF variations. While leaf-level qL and NPQ exhibited strong diurnal dynamics, their influence was attenuated at the canopy scale due to opposing effects on SIF at different canopy layers. Furthermore, different system configurations (i.e., bi-hemispherical vs. hemispherical-conical) and retrieval methods can bias the SIF magnitude and distort its diurnal shapes, therefore confounding the interpretation of inherent strength and dynamics of SIF emission. Our findings demonstrate the importance of crop row structures, interactive variations in canopy structure and plant physiology, instrument configuration, and retrieval method in shaping the measured dynamics of diurnal SIF. This study highlights the necessity to account for these factors to accurately interpret satellite SIF, and informs future synthesis work with different SIF instrumentation and retrieval methods across sites.

KW - Canopy structure

KW - Crop row orientation

KW - Diurnal SIF dynamics

KW - Mechanistic SIF model

KW - Plant physiology

KW - SIF instrumentation

KW - SIF retrieval

KW - Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85114014157

U2 - 10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672

DO - 10.1016/j.rse.2021.112672

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85114014157

SN - 0034-4257

VL - 265

JO - Remote Sensing of Environment

JF - Remote Sensing of Environment

M1 - 112672

ER -

Unpacking the drivers of diurnal dynamics of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF): Canopy structure, plant physiology, instrument configuration and retrieval methods

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