RT Journal Article
T1 Nondestructive assessment of phytopigments in riverbed sediments by use of instrumental color measurements
A1 Sanmartín Sánchez, Patricia
A1 Devesa Rey, Rosa
A1 Prieto Lamas, Beatriz
A1 Barral Silva, María Teresa
K1 Benthic algae
K1 Chlorophyll
K1 CIELAB color measurements
K1 River sediments
K1 Settled phytoplankton
AB PurposeThe quantification of phytopigments in riverbed sediments deserves further attention because it provides information about eutrophic levels, and therefore about sediment and water quality. Due to the current interest in the study of eutrophication processes, there is a need for the development of a rapid, simple, cost-effective, and nondestructive method of quantifying phytopigment content. We describe one method based on color measurements and without the need for extraction and chemical assay.Materials and methodsSediment cores were collected along the watercourse of the Anllóns River (northwest Spain). The reflectance color measurements were analyzed with the CIELAB color parameters, using Cartesian (L*a*b*) and cylindrical (L*C*abhab) coordinates. Phytopigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, phaeopigments and total carotenoids) were extracted with dimethylsulphoxide and were determined spectrophotometrically.Results and discussionThe CIELAB color parameters were significantly correlated with phytopigment content (involving logarithmic, inverse, and simple data). The linear regression equations were used to predict chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid contents, as well as the total pigment contents from parameter a* (redness–greenness of the color) and parameter C*ab (chroma of the color), and values of adjusted R 2 were close to 0.9. The closest relation between phytopigments and color parameters corresponded to chlorophyll a, which may be estimated by means of Chla = 46.4–70.6 log10 (a*) and Chla = −15.7 + 238.1 (1/C*ab) as predictive equations. The phaeophytinization quotient is somewhat questionable due to the low adjusted R 2 values obtained.ConclusionsThis work demonstrates that it is possible to determine phytopigment contents in riverbed sediments by means of a nondestructive colorimetric method employing the CIELAB color parameters. In addition, the abundance of phytopigments in the sediment core showed no clear trend either along the longitudinal axis of the river or in relation to sediment depth
PB Springer
YR 2011
FD 2011-04-19
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/46030
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/46030
LA eng
NO Sanmartín, P., Devesa-Rey, R., Prieto, B. et al. Nondestructive assessment of phytopigments in riverbed sediments by the use of instrumental color measurements. J Soils Sediments 11, 841–851 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0358-z
NO The present study has been financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MEC CGL2007-62928/MEC BES-2007-16996) and by the Xunta de Galicia (Programa Ángeles Alvariño)
DS Minerva
RD 23 may 2026