Modelling and analysis of fluorescence and reflectance in leaves and related biological structures,

ANALÍA IRIEL, MARÍA GABRIELA LAGORIO

Bad Münster am Stein

Workshop; Workshop on Leaf Optics, Ebernburg; 2015

In the last years we have developed a line of research whose main goal is to obtain information about a biological tissue from the study of the light that emerges from the intact material either as reflectance or as emission. Specifically, we are interested in i) developping optical method to evaluate plant health and nutraceutics content1, ii) remote sensing of plants and fruits2, iii) evaluation of environmental stress3-5 and iv) analysis of the relevance of reflected or emitted light as biosignal among species6-8.These materials are highly concentrated on chromophores and display important light scattering, factors that introduce artifacts and misconceptions in the interpretation of the observed signals9. In this presentation I will show our contributions in modelling fluorescence and reflectance in leaves, apples, kiwis and flowers. I will focus specially in the light-re-absorption processes. In the case of leaves, an analysis of their optical parameters for species differing in their pigment content and in the structural characteristics of their surfaces, will also be presented. Finally, I will discuss some spectroscopic findings that serve as a base for non-destructive quality assessment of plants and foods.