Software for photosynthesis data analysis

Many LI-6800 and LI-6400XT operators seek tools for data post-processing, analysis, and response curve model fitting. A variety of non-commercial software packages are available for these tasks, based on popular statistical data analysis programs and published photosynthetic models. Several of these publications and packages are listed below. LI-COR does not test or formally endorse these tools.

A/C_i, CO₂, light, and combined gas-exchange and fluorescence analysis

1

Busch, F.A., Ainsworth, E.A., Amtmann, A., Cavanagh, A.P., Driever, S.M., Ferguson, J.N., Johannes Kromdijk, Lawson, T., Andrew, Jack, Meacham‐Hensold, K., Vath, R.L., Silvere Vialet‐Chabrand, Walker, B.J. and Papanatsiou, M. (2024). A guide to photosynthetic gas exchange measurements: Fundamental principles, best practice and potential pitfalls. Plant, Cell & Environment, 47(9). https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.14815.

2

Dany Pascal Moualeu-Ngangue, Chen, T. and Hartmut Stützel (2016). A New Method to Estimate Photosynthetic Parameters through Net Assimilation Rate−Intercellular Space CO2 Concentration (A−Ci) Curve and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Measurements. New Phytologist, 213(3), pp.1543–1554. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14260.

3

Dubois, J.B., Fiscus, E.L., Booker, F.L., Flowers, M.D. and Reid, C.D. (2007). Optimizing the Statistical Estimation of the Parameters of the Farquhar–von Caemmerer–Berry Model of Photosynthesis. New Phytologist, 176(2), pp.402–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02182.x.

4

Farquhar, G.D., von Caemmerer, S. and Berry, J.A. (1980). A Biochemical Model of Photosynthetic CO2 Assimilation in Leaves of C3 Species. Planta, 149(1), pp.78–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00386231.

5

Garen, J.C. and Michaletz, S.T. (2023). Fast Assimilation‐Temperature Response: a FAsTeR method for measuring the temperature dependence of leaf‐level photosynthesis. New Phytologist, 241(3), pp.1361–1372. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19405.

6

Long, S.P. and Bernacchi, C.J. (2003). Gas exchange measurements, what can they tell us about the underlying limitations to photosynthesis? Procedures and sources of error. Journal of Experimental Botany, 54(392), pp. 2393–2401. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erg262.

Saathoff, A.J. and Welles, J. (2021). Gas exchange measurements in the unsteady state. Plant, Cell & Environment, 44(11), pp.3509–3523. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.14178.

7

Sharkey, T.D. (2015). What Gas Exchange Data can Tell Us about Photosynthesis. Plant, Cell & Environment, 39(6), pp.1161–1163. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12641.

8

von Caemmerer, S. (2021). Updating the Steady State Model of C4 Photosynthesis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(17). https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab266.

General data analysis

9

Tholen, D. (2024). GasanalyzeR: Advancing Reproducible Research Using a new R Package for Photosynthesis Data Workflows. AoB Plants, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plae035. Code: https://gitlab.com/plantphys/gasanalyzer

Curve fitting tools

10

Bellasio, C., Beerling, D. J., and Griffiths, H. (2016). An Excel Tool for Deriving Key Photosynthetic Parameters from Combined Gas Exchange and Chlorophyll Fluorescence: Theory and Practice. Plant, Cell & Environment, 39: 1180–1197. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12560.

11

de Lobo, F.A., de Barros, M.P., Dalmagro, H.J., Dalmolin, Â.C., Pereira, W.E., de Souza, É.C., Vourlitis, G.L. and Ortíz, C.E. (2013). Fitting Net Photosynthetic Light-response Curves with Microsoft Excel - a Critical Look at the Models. Photosynthetica, 51(3), pp.445–456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-013-0045-y.

12

Duursma, R.A. (2015). Plantecophys - An R Package for Analysing and Modelling Leaf Gas Exchange Data. PLOS ONE, 10(11), p.e0143346. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143346. Code: https://bitbucket.org/remkoduursma/plantecophys/src/master/

13

Lei, T., Rizzo, K.T. and Bailey, B.N. (2025). PhoTorch: A Robust and Generalized Biochemical Photosynthesis Model Fitting Package Based on PyTorch. Photosynthesis Research, 163(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-025-01136-7.

14

Lochocki, E.B., Salesse-Smith, C.E. and McGrath, J.M. (2025). PhotoGEA: An R Package for Closer Fitting of Photosynthetic Gas Exchange Data With Non-Gaussian Confidence Interval Estimation. Plant, Cell & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.15501. Code: https://eloch216.github.io/PhotoGEA/

Other resources

Code with modeling tools for C3 photosynthesis and analytic tools for curve-fitting plant ecophysiology responses: https://github.com/cdmuir/photosynthesis.

Code and resources: https://www.fridleylab.org/protocols.

Exhaustive Dual Optimization (EDO) for fitting the FvCB C3 model from Gu et al., 2010 at https://leafweb.org.

Excel-based CO₂ and light response curve fitting tools: https://landfluxorg.godaddysites.com/tools.

Fitting A/C_i curves with simple R scripts and a shiny interface: https://github.com/poales/msuRACiFit

Flash Analysis (a LI-COR application): Flash Analysis.