Autumn colours on the university campus

In autumn, leaves rapidly loose photosynthetic efficiency when chlorophyll is broken down, which reflects in their levels of chlorophyll fluorescence. This breaking down of chlorophyll is a patchy process, however, with increasing variation in fluorescence levels when leaves start coloring.

It might not be cutting-edge science, yet for the students in our Plant Ecology course it greatly exemplifies to the ease of fluorescence measures, regardless of how complicated and fundamental the theory might be.

As you see, it is that season again, another generation of students initiate into the wonderfull world of plant stress measurements!