Chapter 6: Plant Adaptations to the Environment

All life on Earth is carbon based

The means by which organisms acquire and use
carbon represent some of the most basic adaptations
required for life
Humans gain carbon through ingestion

CO2 ultimate source of carbon from which life is

constructed
Autotrophs only organisms that can transform carbon
from CO2 into organic molecules and living tissue
1. Chemoautotrophs
Convert CO2 into organic matter via
oxidation of inorganic molecules (H gas or
Hydrogen sulfide) or methane.
Dominant primary producers in oxygen
deficient environments
2. Photoautotrophs
dominant form of autotrophs
uses the Suns energy to drive the process
of CO2 conversion
Photosynthesis in green plants, algae, and
some types of bacteria
Photosynthesis
conversion of CO2 into simple sugars
energy from the sun (shortwave radiation, PAR)
is harnessed in a series of chemical reactions
that result in the fixation of CO2 into
carbohydrates and release O2 as a by-product

Limits of Photosynthesis:
Amount of light
Atmospheric gases
Amount of water
Carbon dioxide concentration
Temperature
Rubisco
Catalyzes the carboxylation reaction
C3 Plants
Plants that employ a photosynthetic pathway
involving the initial fixation of CO2 into the 3carbon PGAs (Calvin-Benson cycle)
Common plants
Cellular respiration
Uses some of the carbohydrates produced in
photosynthesis
Also referred to as aerobic respiration
Oxidation of carbs to generate energy (ATP) and
takes place exclusively in the mitochondria
C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP
Fermentation
Anaerobic respiration
Occurs in the absence of oxygen
Enabled cells to convert glucose into lactic acid
and ATP
Occurs in both plants and animals

Process:
6CO2 + 12H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
2 Processes of Photosynthesis:
1. Light reactions
Initial photochemical reaction where
chlorophyll within the chloroplasts absorb
light
2. Dark reactions
CO2 is biochemically incorporated into
simple sugars
CO2
1-carbon
molecule

RuBP
5-carbon
molecule

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2 3 -PGA
3-carbon
molecule

C6H12O6 2C3H6O3 + 2ATP

Net Photosynthesis
Difference in the rates of aerobic and anaerobic
respiration is the net gain of carbon

Rates of photosynthesis are typically measured in

moles CO2 per unit leaf area (or mass) per unit
time

Solar radiation
Provides energy required to convert CO2 into
simple sugars
Light compensation point (LCP)
Wherein net photosynthesis is zero
The rate of carbon loss due to respiration
exceeds the rate of uptake during photosynthesis

Chapter 6: Plant Adaptations to the Environment

Light saturation point (LSP)

Value of PAR, above which no further increase
into photosynthesis occurs
Photoinhibition
Result of overloading the processes involved in
the light reactions
Mesophyll cells
Specialized cells where photosynthesis occurs
Stomata
Point of entry of CO2 into the leaf
CO2 enters the leaf by diffusing through these
structures
Closes to prevent water loss (transpiration)

As long as the concentration of CO2 in the air outside the

leaf is greater than that inside the leaf, CO2 will continue to
diffuse through the stomata
As long as photosynthesis occurs, the gradient of CO2
concentrations outside of and inside the leaf will remain
Water vapor
The rate of diffusion of water vapor depends on
the gradient of water vapor from inside to outside
the leaf
The drier the air, the more rapidly the water
inside the leaf will diffuse through the stomata
and out into the air

General functions of water in plants:

1. Transport of nutrients from the soil
2. Turgor pressure
Force exerted outward on a cell wall by the
water contained in the cell
Growth rates of plants and efficiency of their
physiological processes are at their highest
at maximum turgor (fully hydrated)
Movement of water from the soil into the roots, from the
roots to leaves, and leaves to the atmosphere is a
spontaneous reaction
Transpiration is driven by the process diffusion
The free energy that allows this work to be accomplished is
the kinetic energy associated with the random movement
(and collision) of the H2O moloecules

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Water potential ()
Measure used to describe the free energy of
water at any point along the soil-plantatmosphere continuum
Pure water (no solute content), which has high
free energy, is arbitrarily assigned a water
potential of zero ( = 0) units pressure: MPa
relative humidity of the atmosphere = 100%,
atmospheric water potential (atm) = 0
As value drops below 100%, atm = negative
Under most physiological conditions, the air
within the leaf is or at near saturation
As long as the relative humidity of the air is below
100%, a steep gradient of water potential
between the leaf (leaf) and atmosphere (atm)
will be the driving process of diffusion
A decrease in turgor pressure associated with
water loss functions to decrease water potential.
The component of plant water potential due to
turgor pressure is represented as (p)
Osmotic potential ()
Increasing concentrations of solutes in the cells
associated with water loss that lowers water
potential
Matric potential (m)
Tendency of water to adhere to surfaces which
then reduces the free energy of the water
molecules, reducing water potential

= p + + m

Osmotic and matric potentials will ALWAYS have a

NEGATIVE value (-)
Turgor pressure can be POSITIVE or NEGATIVE (+/-)
Total potential can be POSITIVE or NEGATIVE (+/-)
Values of total water potential at any point along the
continuum are typically NEGATIVE
Movement of water through the continuum depends
on maintaining a gradient of increasingly negative
water potential at each point along the way

atm < leaf < root < soil

Chapter 6: Plant Adaptations to the Environment

Water loss through transpiration continues as long as:
1. Amount of energy striking the leaf is enough to
supply necessary latent heat of evaporation
2. Moisture is available for roots in the soil
3. Roots are capable of maintaining a more
negative water potential than that of the soil
Water-use efficiency
The ratio of carbon fixed (photosynthesis) per
unit of water lost (transpiration)

Boundary layer
A layer of still air (or water) adjacent to the
surface of each leaf
Carbon gained in photosynthesis is allocated to the
production of plant tissues
Carbon balance
Focuses on the balance between uptake of CO2
in photosynthesis and its loss through respiration

Stomata must be open to carry out photosynthesis but the

plant also loses water through transpiration
The balance between photosynthesis and transpiration is an
extremely important constraint that governed the evolution of
terrestrial plants

Aquatic plants
lack a stomata
CO2 diffuses from the atmosphere into the
surface waters then mixed with the water column
CO2 reacts with the water and forms bicarbonate
(HCO3-)
Some species can utilize bicarbonate as a
carbon source
2 ways of conversion of CO2 into enzyme carbonic
anhydrase:
1. Active transport of bicarbonate into the leaf
followed by conversion to CO2
2. Excretion of the enzyme into adjacent waters and
subsequent uptake of converted CO2 across the
membrane

Increase in temperature = increase in photosynthesis and

respiration rates
Initially, photosynthesis increases faster than transpiration
As temperature further increases, photosynthetic rates
increase until it reaches a maximum and then eventually
declines as temperature reaches critical levels
Temperature of the leaf controls the rate of photosynthesis,
not the air
Modes of heat exchange in plants
Terrestrial plants: 1) convection
evaporation
Aquatic plants: Convection

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and

2)

How net carbon is gained will majorly influence plant

survival, growth, and reproduction
Variation in the physical environment (salinity, depth,
flow of water, spatial and temporal patterns in climate,
variations in geology and soils) resulted in a wide
array of plant adaptations
Plants must maintain a positive carbon balance to
survive

Plants growing in shaded environments

Lower LCP and LSP, maximum rate of
photosynthesis
Have lower rubisco concentration
Leaf respiration of seedlings are significantly
lower
Leaves have a greater specific leaf area (broader
and thinner leaves)
Shade-intolerant species
adapted to high-light environments
sun-adapted species
Shade-tolerant species
adapted to low-light environments
shade-adapted species
lower maximum rates of net photosynthesis, leaf
respiration, and relative growth rate
Evergreen rhododendrons
respond to moisture stress by inward curling of
the leaves

Prolonged moisture stress inhibits chlorophyll

production causing leaves to turn yellow
Tropical regions species evolved to drop their leaves
at the onset of dry season (drought deciduous)

Chapter 6: Plant Adaptations to the Environment

C4 and CAM plants
Evolved a modified form of photosynthesis to
increase water-use efficiency
Involves an additional step in the conversion of
CO2 into sugars
C4 plants
Have two distinct types of photosynthetic cells
where photosynthesis is divided:
1. Mesophyll cells
2. Bundle sheath cells
Cells
that
surround
the
veins/vascular bundles
Have CO2 react with PEP carboxylase (3-carbon
compound) within the mesophyll cells
Typically fix more carbon
Great advantage in hot, dry climates
Higher energy expenditure because of the need
to produce PEP and PEP carboxylase
Mostly grasses native to tropical and subtropical
regions and some shrubs in arid and saline
environments
CAM plants
Found in deserts
A pathway similar to C4 pathway in that CO2
initially reacts with PEP
Photosynthesis occurs in the mesophyll and
bundle sheath cells but at separate times
Open their stomata at night and are closed
during the day
Slow and inefficient in CO2 fixation compared to
C4
Macronutrients needed by plants:
Carbon
Phosphorus
Hydrogen
Magnesium
Oxygen
Sulfur
Nitrogen
Potassium
Calcium
Micronutrients needed by plants:
Chlorine
Copper
Iron
Molybdenum
Manganese
Zinc
Boron
Nickel
(Check p.113, Table 6.1 for major functions)

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Wetland environments
Soils are saturated with water for most or all of
the year

Plants accumulate ethylene in their roots in response

to anaerobic conditions

Ethylene gas
Growth hormone
Highly insoluble in water
Normally produced in small amounts in the roots
Stimulates cells in the roots to self-destruct and
separate to form interconnected gas filled
chambers (aerenchyma)
Aerenchyma
Chambers that allow some exchange of gases
between submerged and better-aerated roots
Allow oxygen to diffuse between the plant parts
above the water and the submerged tissues
Halophytes
Plants that take in water containing high levels
solutes
Accumulate high levels of ions within their cells,
especially in the leaves