Research Team Studies Crops from Outer Space

A team of researchers, including the Carnegie Institution for Science led by Joe Berry reveals a new approach for measuring photosynthetic activity using satellite technology to calculate light that is emitted by plant leaves as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Called fluorescence, this light is produced when sunlight excites the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll. The method offers a direct measurement of activity occurring as the satellite passes overhead. Other approaches to detecting photosynthetic activity on a large scale are less direct, and until now, models have been the primary tool for estimating photosynthetic productivity on a planetary scale. The accuracy of these models has been difficult to evaluate and the team reports that previous model-based estimates of photosynthesis are too low.

Berry said this new method changes everything as it gives researchers a direct observation of photosynthesis on a large scale for the first time ever. These studies also provide a new and improved tool to evaluate the comparative productivity of the breadbaskets of the world, such as the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Eastern China, and non-agricultural areas of the world, including vast expanses of uncultivated forests and grasslands.

For more information, read the news release at: http://carnegiescience.edu/news/studying_crops_outer_space.