p. 2439 Photosynthesis: Physiological and Ecological Considerations
- Lincoln Taiz, Lincoln TaizUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
- Eduardo Zeiger, Eduardo ZeigerUniversity of California, Los Angeles
- Ian Max MøllerIan Max MøllerAarhus University, Denmark
- , and Angus MurphyAngus MurphyUniversity of Maryland
Abstract
This chapter explores some physiological and ecological considerations concerning photosynthesis. Physiologists wish to understand the direct and indirect responses of photosynthesis to environmental factors. The dependence of photosynthetic processes on environmental conditions is also important to agronomists because plant productivity, and hence crop yield, depends strongly on prevailing photosynthetic rates in a dynamic environment. To the ecologist, photosynthetic variation among different environments is of great interest in terms of adaptation and evolution. The chapter focuses on how naturally occurring variation in light and temperature influences photosynthesis in leaves and how leaves in turn adjust or acclimate to such variation. It also describes how atmospheric CO2 influences photosynthesis, an especially important consideration in a world where CO2 concentrations are rapidly increasing as humans continue to burn fossil fuels for energy production.
