Portable Photosynthesis System

Photosynthesis, Measured at the Leaf

Plant performance is difficult to assess without measuring it directly. Growth rates, leaf area, and chlorophyll content describe what has already happened. They cannot tell you, at any given moment, how fast the plant is taking up carbon, how open its stomata are, or how it is responding to changes in light, temperature, or water.

A portable photosynthesis system measures this directly. From individual leaves to the whole plants and small trees, in the plant’s actual growing environment.

Portable photosynthesis systems are configured to measure these parameters:

• Gas exchange — net photosynthesis (CO₂ uptake), stomatal conductance, transpiration, and intercellular CO₂.

• Leaf and plant environment — leaf and air temperature, humidity, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and light intensity (PAR) inside and outside the plant measurement chamber.

• Response curves — automated CO₂ response (A/Ci) curves, light response curves, and temperature response curves, generated in minutes.

• Chlorophyll fluorescence (optional) — combined gas exchange and fluorescence measurement on the same leaf, for researchers studying photosystem function.

• CO₂ isotopes — isotope measurement of CO₂ for source partitioning and water-use efficiency studies, particularly useful in drought response and carbon allocation research.