Spectral characteristics of pine needles at the limit of tree growth in subarctic Finland

Background: Forests in subarctic regions inhabit the transitional zone between the temperate region and the Arctic, where plant survival depends on the capability of individuals to adjust to changing environments. This transitional zone, generally falling between 50° N and 70° N, is becoming increasingly vulnerable under a changing climate, with treelines moving further north and also higher up slopes. Aims: The current study was carried out at 68° N, the most sensitive zone of the subarctic and northern limit of tree growth in Finnish Lapland. The physiology of trees in these conditions is still not fully understood, and an attempt is made here to contribute to a better understanding of the functionality of leaves by studying the spectral characteristics of needles of Pinus sylvestris along an altitudinal transect. Methods: A variety of spectral indices derived from high-resolution reflectance spectra were measured on freshly excised pine needles. The specific hypothesis is that spectral reflectance data can detect the stress that pine needles suffer at high elevations. We also wish to know which of the several possible indices is most indicative of stress. Results: All of the spectral indices, with the exception of NDVI, showed elevational as well as age-related trends consistent with the hypothesis that needles from the highest elevation suffer degradation of chlorophyll. Conclusions: We conclude that appropriate reflectance measurements provide useful information that may in future be used to detect stress effects on conifer foliage. The visual appearance of trees included in the study did also reflect in their spectral characteristics.

[1]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[2]  J. Eichhorn,et al.  Assessment of Tree Condition , 2013 .

[3]  Kotaro Takayama,et al.  Canopy conundrums: building on the Biosphere 2 experience to scale measurements of inner and outer canopy photoprotection from the leaf to the landscape. , 2012, Functional plant biology : FPB.

[4]  A. Porcar-Castell,et al.  A high-resolution portrait of the annual dynamics of photochemical and non-photochemical quenching in needles of Pinus sylvestris. , 2011, Physiologia plantarum.

[5]  S. Raddi,et al.  Effectiveness of the photochemical reflectance index to track photosynthetic activity over a range of forest tree species and plant water statuses. , 2011, Functional plant biology : FPB.

[6]  E. Cieraad.  Temperate oceanic treelines - Low temperature effects on photosynthesis and growth , 2011 .

[7]  Weixing Cao,et al.  Estimating Leaf Chlorophyll Content Using Red Edge Parameters , 2010 .

[8]  F. Berninger,et al.  Testing the growth limitation hypothesis for subarctic Scots pine , 2010 .

[9]  Denis Klimov,et al.  Monitoring of cold and light stress impact on photosynthesis by using the laser induced fluorescence transient (LIFT) approach , 2010 .

[10]  C. Körner,et al.  Nitrogen status of conifer needles at the alpine treeline , 2009 .

[11]  Felix Morsdorf,et al.  Assessing forest structural and physiological information content of multi-spectral LiDAR waveforms by radiative transfer modelling , 2009 .

[12]  Michael E. Schaepman,et al.  Retrieval of foliar information about plant pigment systems from high resolution spectroscopy , 2009 .

[13]  Thomas Hilker,et al.  Linking foliage spectral responses to canopy-level ecosystem photosynthetic light-use efficiency at a Douglas-fir forest in Canada , 2009 .

[14]  Zuzana Lhotáková,et al.  Spectral analysis of coniferous foliage and possible links to soil chemistry: are spectral chlorophyll indices related to forest floor dissolved organic C and N? , 2008, The Science of the total environment.

[15]  Uwe Rascher,et al.  Spatio-temporal variations of photosynthesis: the potential of optical remote sensing to better understand and scale light use efficiency and stresses of plant ecosystems , 2008, Precision Agriculture.

[16]  Albert Porcar-Castell,et al.  A new monitoring PAM fluorometer (MONI-PAM) to study the short- and long-term acclimation of photosystem II in field conditions , 2008, Photosynthesis Research.

[17]  Rasmus Fensholt,et al.  Remote Sensing , 2008, Encyclopedia of GIS.

[18]  C. Körner.  The use of 'altitude' in ecological research. , 2007, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[19]  Mathias Disney,et al.  Can we measure terrestrial photosynthesis from space directly, using spectral reflectance and fluorescence? , 2007 .

[20]  G. Berlyn,et al.  Drought response of two Mexican oak species, Quercus laceyi and Q. sideroxyla (Fagaceae), in relation to elevational position. , 2007, American journal of botany.

[21]  Yiannis Manetas,et al.  Photosynthetic pigment contents in twigs of 24 woody species assessed by in vivo reflectance spectroscopy indicate low chlorophyll levels but high carotenoid/chlorophyll ratios , 2007 .

[22]  David S. Hik,et al.  Variability, contingency and rapid change in recent subarctic alpine tree line dynamics , 2007 .

[23]  Heikki Hänninen,et al.  Relationship between temperature and the seasonal course of photosynthesis in Scots pine at northern timberline and in southern boreal zone , 2007 .

[24]  L. Kullman,et al.  Tree line population monitoring of Pinus sylvestris in the Swedish Scandes, 1973–2005: implications for tree line theory and climate change ecology , 2007 .

[25]  M. Cho,et al.  A new technique for extracting the red edge position from hyperspectral data: The linear extrapolation method , 2006 .

[26]  H. Salminen,et al.  Modelling variation of needle density of Scots pine at high latitudes , 2006 .

[27]  Gabriele Broll,et al.  Sensitivity and response of northern hemisphere altitudinal and polar treelines to environmental change at landscape and local scales , 2005 .

[28]  A. Colpaert,et al.  The impact of elevation, topography and snow load damage of trees on the position of the actual timberline on the fells in central Finnish Lapland , 2005 .

[29]  M. Dobbertin.  Tree growth as indicator of tree vitality and of tree reaction to environmental stress: a review , 2005, European Journal of Forest Research.

[30]  Xiao Zhang,et al.  Impacts of Climate Change , 2007 .

[31]  P. Muukkonen.  Needle biomass turnover rates of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) derived from the needle-shed dynamics , 2005, Trees.

[32]  Andres Kuusk,et al.  The effect of crown shape on the reflectance of coniferous stands , 2004 .

[33]  J. Grace,et al.  Climate and the meristem temperatures of plant communities near the tree-line , 1989, Oecologia.

[34]  R. Schmid,et al.  Longevity of needle fascicles of Pinus longaeva (Bristlecone pine) and other North American pines , 1981, Oecologia.

[35]  M. Gehrig.  Methoden zur Vitalitätsbeurteilung von Bäumen: Vergleichende Untersuchungen mit visuellen, nadelanalytischen und bioelektrischen Verfahren , 2004 .

[36]  Miina Rautiainen,et al.  Reduced simple ratio better than NDVI for estimating LAI in Finnish pine and spruce stands , 2004 .

[37]  Andrew D Richardson,et al.  Reflectance of Alaskan black spruce and white spruce foliage in relation to elevation and latitude. , 2003, Tree physiology.

[38]  Ü. Niinemets,et al.  Needle longevity, shoot growth and branching frequency in relation to site fertility and within-canopy light conditions in Pinus sylvestris , 2003 .

[39]  C. Körner.  Carbon limitation in trees , 2003 .

[40]  F. Holtmeier,et al.  Regeneration of trees in the treeline ecotone: northern Finnish Lapland , 2003 .

[41]  C. Körner,et al.  The carbon charging of pines at the climatic treeline: a global comparison , 2003, Oecologia.

[42]  Andres Kuusk,et al.  Application of a forest reflectance model in estimating leaf area index of Scots pine stands using Landsat-7 ETM reflectance data , 2003 .

[43]  E. Harrison,et al.  The molecular analysis of leaf senescence--a genomics approach. , 2002, Plant biotechnology journal.

[44]  Caroline J. Nichol,et al.  Remote sensing of photosynthetic-light-use efficiency of a Siberian boreal forest , 2002 .

[45]  F. Berninger,et al.  Impacts of climate change on the tree line. , 2002, Annals of botany.

[46]  W. Oechel,et al.  Seasonal patterns of reflectance indices, carotenoid pigments and photosynthesis of evergreen chaparral species , 2002, Oecologia.

[47]  Andrew D Richardson,et al.  Changes in foliar spectral reflectance and chlorophyll fluorescence of four temperate species following branch cutting. , 2002, Tree physiology.

[48]  J. Autio,et al.  The climate of northern Finland , 2002 .

[49]  J. Autio,et al.  What determines the timberline , 2002 .

[50]  Andrew D. Richardson,et al.  An evaluation of noninvasive methods to estimate foliar chlorophyll content , 2002 .

[51]  Ü. Niinemets,et al.  Site fertility and the morphological and photosynthetic acclimation of Pinus sylvestris needles to light. , 2001, Tree physiology.

[52]  A. Richardson,et al.  Spectral reflectance of Picea rubens (Pinaceae) and Abies balsamea (Pinaceae) needles along an elevational gradient, Mt. Moosilauke, New Hampshire, USA. , 2001, American journal of botany.

[53]  R. M. Lanner,et al.  Does bristlecone pine senesce? , 2001, Experimental Gerontology.

[54]  T. A. Black,et al.  Remote sensing of photosynthetic-light-use efficiency of boreal forest , 2000 .

[55]  Mikhail V. Kozlov,et al.  Difference in needle length : A new and objective indicator of pollution impact on scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) , 1999 .

[56]  A. Gitelson,et al.  Non‐destructive optical detection of pigment changes during leaf senescence and fruit ripening , 1999 .

[57]  G. Carter,et al.  Variability in leaf optical properties among 26 species from a broad range of habitats. , 1998, American journal of botany.

[58]  Josep Peñuelas,et al.  Visible and near-infrared reflectance techniques for diagnosing plant physiological status , 1998 .

[59]  P. Reich,et al.  Evidence that longer needle retention of spruce and pine populations at high elevations and high latitudes is largely a phenotypic response. , 1996, Tree physiology.

[60]  L. Struwe,et al.  Vascular Plants of Russia and Adjacent States (The Former USSR). , 1996 .

[61]  J. Peñuelas,et al.  Assessment of photosynthetic radiation‐use efficiency with spectral reflectance , 1995 .

[62]  C. Field,et al.  Relationships Between NDVI, Canopy Structure, and Photosynthesis in Three Californian Vegetation Types , 1995 .

[63]  S. Cherepanov.  Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR) , 1995 .

[64]  R. Waring,et al.  The normalized difference vegetation index of small Douglas-fir canopies with varying chlorophyll concentrations , 1994 .

[65]  J. Peñuelas,et al.  The red edge position and shape as indicators of plant chlorophyll content, biomass and hydric status. , 1994 .

[66]  Christopher B. Field,et al.  Reflectance indices associated with physiological changes in nitrogen- and water-limited sunflower leaves☆ , 1994 .

[67]  A. Gitelson,et al.  Spectral reflectance changes associated with autumn senescence of Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Acer platanoides L. leaves. Spectral features and relation to chlorophyll estimation , 1994 .

[68]  P. Hari,et al.  Air pollution in eastern Lapland : challenge for an environmental measurement station , 1994 .

[69]  John L. Innes.  Methods to estimate forest health , 1993 .

[70]  C. Field,et al.  A narrow-waveband spectral index that tracks diurnal changes in photosynthetic efficiency , 1992 .

[71]  B. Demmig‐Adams,et al.  Photoprotection and Other Responses of Plants to High Light Stress , 1992 .

[72]  J. Dungan,et al.  The effect of a red leaf pigment on the relationship between red edge and chlorophyll concentration , 1991 .

[73]  J. Dungan,et al.  Exploring the relationship between reflectance red edge and chlorophyll content in slash pine. , 1990, Tree physiology.

[74]  J. L. Innes,et al.  Assesment of tree condition , 1990 .

[75]  Gregory A. Carter,et al.  Effect of competition and leaf age on visible and infrared reflectance in pine foliage , 1989 .

[76]  G. Guyot,et al.  Utilisation de la Haute Resolution Spectrale pour Suivre L'etat des Couverts Vegetaux , 1988 .

[77]  Stanley B. Brown,et al.  THE DEGRADATION OF CHLOROPHYLL - A BIOLOGICAL ENIGMA. , 1987, The New phytologist.

[78]  F. Baret,et al.  Monitoring wheat canopies with a high spectral resolution radiometer , 1987 .

[79]  P. Sellers.  Canopy reflectance, photosynthesis and transpiration , 1985 .

[80]  D. Horler,et al.  The red edge of plant leaf reflectance , 1983 .

[81]  A. Richardson,et al.  Measurement of reflectance factors under daily and intermittent irradiance variations. , 1981, Applied optics.

[82]  R. Waring,et al.  Stem Growth per Unit of Leaf Area: A Measure of Tree Vigor , 1980 .

[83]  R. Colwell.  Remote sensing of the environment , 1980, Nature.

[84]  C. Tucker.  Red and photographic infrared linear combinations for monitoring vegetation , 1979 .

[85]  L. Christersson,et al.  Short-term temperature variation in needles of Pinussilvestris L. , 1978 .

[86]  W. Collins,et al.  Remote sensing of crop type and maturity , 1978 .

[87]  J. A. Schell,et al.  Monitoring vegetation systems in the great plains with ERTS , 1973 .

[88]  A. Brown,et al.  Pinus Sylvestris L. , 1968 .

[89]  D. M. Gates,et al.  Spectral Properties of Plants , 1965 .

[90]  S. T. Henderson,et al.  The spectral energy distribution of daylight , 1963 .

[91]  A. H. Taylor,et al.  The Distribution of Energy in the Visible Spectrum of Daylight , 1941 .

[92]  F. A. Lang,et al.  Conifers , 1922, Bulletin of popular information - Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University..