Effects of leaf age and psyllid damage on the spectral reflectance properties of Eucalyptus saligna foliage

Leaf chlorophyll content is influenced directly by many environmental stress factors. Because leaf pigment absorption is wavelength dependent, numerous narrow-band reflectance-based indices have been proposed as a means of assessing foliar health and condition. Chlorophyll content, however, also varies with leaf developmental stage. In this study, a range of morphological and physiological traits including insect damage, relative chlorophyll content (SPAD values), chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and reflectance spectra was measured of leaves sampled from mature Eucalyptus saligna. Relative differences among three leaf-age cohorts were compared with differences obtained from mature leaves that were either healthy or infested with the psyllid Glycaspis baileyi. Differences in relative chlorophyll content were greater between immature and mature foliage than between damaged and healthy mature leaves. These differences were confirmed in the comparisons of reflectance spectra and indices. As many eucalypt species have opportunistic crown phenology and long-lived leaves, leaf-age composition of crowns needs to be taken into account when applying reflectance-based indices to assess foliar condition of eucalypts.