Evaluation the vigour of urban green lawn grown under long-term shade conditions by the use of chlorophyll fluorescence technique

Abstract Unfavorable light conditions in urban areas are one of the most important cause of inappropriate grass communities condition. The possibility to detect the plant stress caused by shade is an important element in shaping the environment. The answer to following questions: what is the ability to detect the stress caused by shade in chosen lawn varieties of Perennial ryegrass by using the chlorophyll a fluorescence (O-J-I-P test) and which of tested varieties has the best properties to create grasslands in reduced light conditions is the aim of this work. Two-factor experimental micro-plot was conducted with three varieties and three different shadowing variants. Chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements were provided and were compared to leaf density. Our results explored significant difference between selected varieties in the terms of their photosynthetic apparatus adaption to light conditions. During May, all tested varieties were characterized by the rise of all fluorescence curve points under lower light intensity. The largest changes under shade conditions were noticed for the variety ‘Taya’. During next months a declining trend of photosynthetic efficiency for this variety was observed. On the basis of our results, we assume that each variety has unique threshold and needs of light intensity.