Strength of winter leaf redness as an indicator of stress vulnerable individuals in Pistacia lentiscus

Leaf anthocyanins are believed to afford protection against photoinhibition, yet the dependence of protection on actual anthocyanin concentrations has not been investigated. To that aim, non-invasive optical methods (spectral reflectance and chlorophyll fluorescence) were used to assess the levels of anthocyanins and chlorophylls as well as photosystem II photochemical efficiency in hundreds of leaves from the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), which displays in the field a continuum of leaf tints during winter from fully green to fully red. Contrary to expectations based on the photoprotective hypothesis, the strength of leaf redness was positively correlated to the extent of mid-winter chronic photoinhibition and negatively correlated to leaf chlorophyll contents. Hence, a photoprotective role for anthocyanins is not substantiated. Instead, we argue that winter leaf redness may be used reliably, quickly and non-invasively to locate vulnerable individuals in the field.