Optical properties of phylitis scolopendrium leaves growing in different light conditions

In this master thesis we studied the differences in reflectance and transmittance spectra of leaves of deer tongue (Phyllitis scolopendrium) specimens from different locations. We compared reflectance and transmittance spectra of leaves grown along the radiation gradient two times in the season (April and June). The content of chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins and UV absorbing compounds was also measured. In addition, we also studied the anatomical properties of the leaves including the number of leaf stomata. The leaves of the deer tongue leaves were collected different locations in the vicinity of the entrance to the Zelše caves in Rakov Škocjan, where we also measured selected environmental parameters. The work was carried out in the laboratory at the Chair of Ecology and Environmental Protection at the Department of Biology of the Biotechnical Faculty. In each sampling thirty samples were collected - ten from each out of the three different locations. In laboratory we measured light reflectance and transmittance of leaves in the range of 280 to 800 nm and determined the content of chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins and UV absorbing substances. We hypothesised that the properties of the deer tongue leaves would change during to the season due to differences in biochemical and morphological characteristics which would also vary depending on the habitat and the season in which the samples were collected. We found out that reflectance and transmittance spectra of both samples differend among locations and in between samplings. In the visible region less light was reflected, while in the NIR range it was just the opposite. We showed that reflectance and transmittance spectra were affected by the biochemical and morphological characteristics of the leaves. The results are consistent with several other studies. We determined the differences in biochemical and morphological properties of samples that varied between samplings as well as among the locations on the light gradient in a particular sampling. The correlations calculated between the morphological and the biochemical characteristics and the reflectance spectra of the April samples collected at three different locations revealed that morphological characteristics exerted the greatest impact on the reflectance spectra of the leaves, whereas in the case of the June samples the strongest impact was that of the biochemical properties of leaves. These results are also partly consistent with other researches. The correlations calculated between the morphological and the biochemical characteristics and the transmittance spectra of the April and the June samples showed that the biochemical properties of the leaves exerted the greatest impact on the reflectance spectra of the leaves, which is consistent with other research