Articles about photosynthesis in the popular press or online often make me cringe.
Why?
Because sometimes they lead people to think that the oxygen (O2) produced by photosynthesis is derived from carbon dioxide (CO2).
Some even further compound their mistake by stating that plants actually convert CO2 into O2 at night!
Ack!
This is simply NOT [...]
Archive for February, 2009
Plants Don’t Convert CO2 into O2
Posted in CO2, Photosynthesis, tagged botany, Nature, plants, science on February 16, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Photosynthesis and Global “Weirding” – How Heat and Drought Affect Photosynthesis (part 2)
Posted in CO2, Photosynthesis, Plant Hormones, Plant Stress, tagged botany, global warming, plants, science on February 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As previously mentioned….if most climatologists are correct, then parts of the Earth’s surface may experience increasing episodes of heat and drought as a result of global “weirding”. (see here for a current example)
Some of the effects of heat on photosynthesis was considered in part 1 of this post.
But what about drought (a.k.a., long term water [...]
Photosynthesis and Global “Weirding” – How Heat and Drought Affect Photosynthesis (part 1)
Posted in CO2, Photosynthesis, Plant Stress, tagged botany, global warming, plants, science on February 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If most climatologists are correct, then parts of the Earth’s surface may experience increasing episodes of heat and drought as a result of global “weirding”. (see here for a current example)
In a previous post in this blog, I briefly introduced the complex subject of how increasing atmospheric CO2 may affect plant photosynthesis.
There is some evidence [...]
Why Plants Tell Time
Posted in Flowering, Plant Biological Clock, Plant Development, tagged botany, plants, science on February 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Last time we had a taste of HOW plants tell time.
But what, if any, are the adaptive advantages to plants for doing so?
It has long been presumed that the ability to anticipate day/night cycles gives organisms a fitness advantage. For example, this would allow plants to anticipate daylight and adjust their photosynthetic metabolism accordingly, [...]
