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A slide presentation used to report research progress at a meeting of the Limnology & Oceanography Society.
Some plant pigments undergo a reversible change into a different form in order to protect a plant's photosynthetic systems from damage during stress. This is known as xanthophyll cycling. The xanthophylls are members of the carotenoid pigments which are responsible for the colorful leaves on trees in the autumn.
The varying levels of xanthophyll cycling produced in response to different environmental stressors cause varying changes in the wavelengths of light reflected back from a plant's surface (i.e. very small changes in leaf colour). This may be detected by sensors (known as hyperspectral detectors) mounted on aircraft and may be used to assess ecosystem health rapidly from the air.
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