Improvements in Parameter Estimates in the LI-6800.

Instrumental uncertainty fundamentally arises from the fact that measuring instruments have neither perfect precision nor accuracy. Because of this, instrument manufacturers strive to improve instrument uncertainty when designing new instruments. Instrumental uncertainty is, however, frequently neglected when using instrumentation to measure biological processes. In the case of gas exchange instrumentation, this uncertainty is generally ignored when logging discreet data points for survey or response curve measurements. Nevertheless, instrument uncertainty is propagated into both total measurement uncertainty as well as the uncertainty in calculated downstream parameters. Therefore, decreases in instrumental uncertainty are desirable to improve computed parameter estimates. Here, decreased instrument uncertainty in the LI-6800 is shown to translate into less uncertainty in derived parameters such as assimilation (A) and transpiration (E) when compared to the LI-6400XT. Implications for these improvements on larger scale parameter estimates, such as quantum yield, are also discussed.