TEMPORAL VERSUS SPATIAL VARIATION IN LEAF REFLECTANCE UNDER CHANGING WATER-STRESS CONDITIONS

Leaf reflectance changes associated with changes in water stress were analysed in two separate experiments. Results indicate that the variation in reflectance among collections of leaves of a given species all at the same level of water stress is at least as great as the variation in reflectance associated with changes in water stress for a given leaf collection of that species. The implication is that results from leaf reflectance-water stress studies have only limited applicability to the remote sensing of plant canopy water stress.