Author(s)

Alexander Kutschera¹, Jacob J. Lamb^2*

¹TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany.
²Department of Electronic Systems & ENERSENSE, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.

Measurement of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) incident on photosynthetic organisms is a crucial measurement for understanding how organisms respond to various light conditions, and for calculating electron flow through the photosynthetic machinery. Measurements of PAR are typically performed in the region of the electromagnetic spectrum between 400 - 700 nm, which is the region of radiation that is responsible for promoting photosynthesis. Typically, to ensure that the sensor measures in this range, the implementation of long- and short-pass filters is required. Although this allows the exclusion of radiation outside of the PAR region, such filters can be expensive. Additionally, the implementation of autonomous PAR measurements requires costly commercial instruments. Here, a straight-forward, inexpensive apparatus has been designed and constructed using a sensor that can distinguish between red, green, blue and white light. The constructed apparatus was able to perform comparably to a commercial PAR sensor. Furthermore, the implementation of the device to measure PAR intensity over a three-day period shows how the apparatus can be implemented for use as a constant light monitor.

Photosynthesis, Light Meter, Photosynthetically Active Radiation

Kutschera, A. and Lamb, J. (2018) Light Meter for Measuring Photosynthetically Active Radiation. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 9, 2420-2428. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2018.912175.