Temporal Variation in Tower-Based Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Its Environmental Response in a Chinese Cork Oak Plantation

Abstract

With the development of spectrum observation technology, solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)—an effective substitute for photosynthesis—has been widely used to monitor crop stress, vegetation phenology and ecosystem productivity. The relationship between fluorescence and photosynthesis is complicated because they are sensitive to environmental changes. Understanding the response of SIF to environmental factors is of great significance for clarifying the variation dynamic and relationship between SIF and photosynthesis under different conditions. In this study, the canopy SIF and the environmental factors of a Quercus variabilis BI. plantation were observed simultaneously, and the response of SIF to environmental factors at a daily scale and at a half-hour scale was analyzed. The results showed that SIF had obvious seasonal and diurnal dynamics and was mainly driven by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The influence of PAR, air temperature (Ta), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), soil moisture (SM) and wind speed (Ws) on SIF varied with the lapse of the growing season. After eliminating the covariant effect of PAR on the Ta and VPD during the whole growing season, the relationship between VPD and SIF was found to be negative, and the effect of Ta on SIF disappeared. This study enriched the ground observation dataset and provided support for understanding the variations in the relationship between SIF and photosynthesis under different conditions.