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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418560
Research Project: Sustainable and Resilient Crop Production Systems Based on the Quantification and Modeling of Genetic, Environment, and Management Factors

Location: Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory

Title: Sensitivity of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and hyperspectral reflectance to drought response in soybean genotypes with contrasting affinities for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Author
item Chang, Christine
item Barnaby, Jinyoung
item Maul, Jude

Submitted to: Remote Sensing of Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/2025
Publication Date: 3/26/2025
Citation: Chang, C.Y., Barnaby, J.Y., Maul, J.E. 2025. Sensitivity of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and hyperspectral reflectance to drought response in soybean genotypes with contrasting affinities for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Remote Sensing of Environment. 323(2025):114722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.114722.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.114722

Interpretive Summary: Improved crop monitoring techniques and tools for developing drought resilience are needed to improve irrigation management support in the face of increasing severity and frequency of drought events. We evaluated several remote sensing signals for their sensitivity to drought responses in two soybean varieties with more or less associations with root fungi that improve drought resilience in crops. We identified the temporal sensitivity of different remote sensing signals and characterized the responses of the two genotypes to drought. These results provide guidance to selecting remote sensing signals tuned to early versus late drought responses and also demonstrate the possibility of using remote sensing to screen for belowground traits in crops for breeding.

Technical Abstract: Increasing frequency and severity of drought events impact global and domestic agricultural productivity. Monitoring drought in agricultural fields with remote sensing can provide faster, lower-cost decision management support for critical field management activities. We evaluated the application of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) emitted at red (SIFRed) and far-red (SIFFarRed) wavelengths in comparison with chlorophyll- and xanthophyll-sensitive reflectance-based remote sensing indices for drought stress monitoring at the canopy scale. To do so, we evaluated impacts of drought stress on two soybean varieties with similar phenology but contrasting affinities for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which can provide host plants with extended access to water and nutrients in exchange for carbohydrates. Drought response physiology of the two genotypes was further explored using leaf level photosynthetic gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, water potential and phenology. We observed distinct responses, with the low-affinity genotype exhibiting lower SIFRed and more negative midday leaf water potential, as well as reduced growth and development rate compared with the high-affinity genotype. We also observed different timing of drought response parameters associated with different remote sensing signals. Our findings demonstrate the particular sensitivity of SIF to physiological drought responses, conferred here through AMF associations in the soil.