Abstract: To investigate the adaptive capacity to light irradiance, and to screen for the different photoin-hibition-tolerant turfgrass species for different regions, we exp lored light2dependent chlorophyll fluorescence properties in four turfgrass species: Zoysia sinica, Eremochloa ophiuroides, Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne. The results showed that with increasing of light intensity under 30℃, there is a slower decrease in efficiency of energy conversion of open PSⅡ ( F′v/F′m) , actual PSⅡ efficiency (ΦPSⅡ) and photochemical quenching ( qP) , and a faster increase in electron transport rate ( ETR ) in Zoysia sinica and Eremochloa ophiuroides, as compared with Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne. Although Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne had higher energy dissipation capacity indicated by a higher qN than two other species did, their lower qP and ФPSⅡ suggested that they had more suscep tibility to photoinhibiton under strong irradiance resulting in the decrease of ETR. Therefore, it is considered that cool-season turfgrasses Festuca arundinacea
and Lolium perenne appear to suffer photoinhibiton more easily than warm-season turfgrasses Zoysia sinica and Eremochloa ophiuroides do and that noninvasive chlorophyll fluorescence techniquesmay be used to identify for
different photoinhibition tolerant genotypes.

Key words: Turfgrass, Chlorophyll fluorescence, Photoinhibition, Electron transport