Gross Primary Production of a Wheat Canopy Relates Stronger to Far Red Than to Red Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence

Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is a radiation flux emitted by chlorophyll molecules in the red (RSIF) and far red region (FRSIF), and is considered as a potential indicator of the functional state of photosynthesis in remote sensing applications. Recently, ground studies and space observations have demonstrated a strong empirical linear relationship between FRSIF and carbon uptake through photosynthesis (GPP, gross primary production). In this study, we investigated the potential of RSIF and FRSIF to represent the functional status of photosynthesis at canopy level on a wheat crop. RSIF and FRSIF were continuously measured in the O2-B (SIF687) and O2-A bands (SIF760) at a high frequency rate from a nadir view at a height of 21 m, simultaneously with carbon uptake using eddy covariance (EC) techniques. The relative fluorescence yield (Fyield) and the photochemical yield were acquired at leaf level using active fluorescence measurements. SIF was normalized with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) to derive apparent spectral fluorescence yields (ASFY687, ASFY760). At the diurnal scale, we found limited variations of ASFY687 and ASFY760 during sunny days. We also did not find any link between Fyield and light use efficiency (LUE) derived from EC, which would prevent SIF from indicating LUE changes. The coefficient of determination (r2) of the linear regression between SIF and GPP is found to be highly variable, depending on the emission wavelength, the time scale of observation, sky conditions, and the phenological stage. Despite its photosystem II (PSII) origin, SIF687 correlates less than SIF760 with GPP in any cases. The strongest SIF–GPP relationship was found for SIF760 during canopy growth. When canopy is in a steady state, SIF687 and SIF760 are almost as effective as PAR in predicting GPP. Our results imply some constraints in the use of simple linear relationships to infer GPP from SIF, as they are expected to be better predictive with far red SIF for canopies with a high dynamic range of green biomass and a low LUE variation range.