Abstract
The most important role of a leaf is capturing light energy and fixing CO2 into carbohydrates (i.e., photosynthesis). Fundamental knowledge on the optical and physiological properties of an individual leaf of a C3 plant is summarized below. A leaf adjusts light absorption, at the scales of both whole-leaf and intra-leaf, in order to efficiently capture light energy and to avoid photodamage caused by excessive light energy. Several interacting factors involved in orchestrating these optical properties, such as leaf orientation, mesophyll structure, chloroplast movement, and the absorption properties of phytopigments, are outlined. Photosynthesis consists of two reactions that are spatially separated within the chloroplast. Light energy is converted into reducing power and chemical energy via the electron transport chain. These are then consumed during CO2 fixation in the carbon assimilation process. The electron transport reaction is affected significantly by the spectral distribution of light due to the optical properties of the leaf. Photosynthesis is closely related to other physiological processes. CO2 uptake accompanies water vapor release (transpiration). Produced photosynthates are transported to the other plant organs (translocation). Brief information about the significance and the machinery of these photosynthesis-related processes is provided.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agati G, Tattini M (2010) Multiple functional roles of flavonoids in photoprotection. New Phytol 186:786–793
Araya T, Noguchi K, Terashima I (2006) Effects of carbohydrate accumulation on photosynthesis differ between sink and source leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Plant Cell Physiol 47:644–652
Bradfield EG, Guttridge CG (1979) The dependence of calcium transport and leaf tipburn in strawberry on relative humidity and nutrient solution concentration. Ann Bot 43:363–372
Brodersen CR, Vogelmann TC (2010) Do changes in light direction affect absorption profiles in leaves? Funct Plant Biol 37:403–412
Collier GF, Tibbitts TW (1982) Tipburn in lettuce. In: Janick J (ed) Horticultural reviews, vol 4. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 49–65
Demotes-Mainard S, Péron T, Corot A et al (2015) Plant responses to red and far-red lights, applications in horticulture. Environ Exp Bot 121:4–21
Evans JR (1986) A quantitative analysis of light distribution between the two photosystems, considering variation in both the relative amounts of the chlorophyll-protein complexes and the spectral quality of light. Photobiochem Photobiophys 10:135–147
Gates DM, Keegan HJ, Schleter JC et al (1965) Spectral properties of plants. Appl Opt 4:11–20
Goto E, Takakura T (1992) Prevention of lettuce tipburn by supplying air to inner leaves. Trans ASAE 35:641–645
Ho LC (1988) Metabolism and compartmentation of imported sugars in sink organs in relation to sink strength. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 39:355–378
Ho LC (1999) The physiological basis for improving tomato fruit quality. Acta Hortic 487:33–40
Inada K (1976) Action spectra for photosynthesis in higher plants. Plant Cell Physiol 17:355–365
Inoue S, Kinoshita T, Takemiya A et al (2008) Leaf positioning of Arabidopsis in response to blue light. Mol Plant 1:15–26
Jackson JA, Jenkins GI (1995) Extension-growth responses and expression of flavonoid biosynthesis genes in the Arabidopsis hy4 mutant. Planta 197:233–239
McCree KJ (1972) The action spectrum, absorptance and quantum yield of photosynthesis in crop plants. Agric Meteorol 9:191–216
Münch E (1930) Die Stoffbewegungen in der Pflanze. Gustav Fischer, Jena
Murakami K, Matsuda R, Fujiwara K (2014) Light-induced systemic regulation of photosynthesis in primary and trifoliate leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris: effects of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) versus spectrum. Plant Biol 16:16–21
Murakami K, Matsuda R, Fujiwara K (2016) Interaction between the spectral photon flux density distributions of light during growth and for measurements in net photosynthetic rates of cucumber leaves. Physiol Plant 158(2):213–224. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1399-3054/earlyview
Muraoka H, Takenaka A, Tang Y et al (1998) Flexible leaf orientations of Arisaema heterophyllum maximize light capture in a forest understorey and avoid excess irradiance at a deforested site. Ann Bot 82:297–307
Niyogi KK, Björkman O, Grossman AR (1997) The roles of specific xanthophylls in photoprotection. Proc Natl Sci USA 94:14162–14167
Terashima I, Fujita T, Inoue T et al (2009) Green light drives leaf photosynthesis more efficiently than red light in strong white light: revisiting the enigmatic question of why leaves are green. Plant Cell Physiol 50:684–697
Vogelmann TC (1993) Plant tissue optics. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 44:231–251
Wada M (2013) Chloroplast movement. Plant Sci 210:177–182
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Murakami, K., Matsuda, R. (2016). Optical and Physiological Properties of a Leaf. In: Kozai, T., Fujiwara, K., Runkle, E. (eds) LED Lighting for Urban Agriculture. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1848-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1848-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1846-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1848-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)