LAI, Leaf area index. These enhancements of photosynthesis are broadly consistent with experimental observations (Table I). If plant nutrition is limited, then any additional carbon cannot be used productively, and a growth stimulation cannot be sustained despite an initial enhancement of photosynthetic carbon gain. Is growth controlled by photosynthesis, or are other plant or environmental factors more important in controlling growth? Community Solutions. What does this have to do with photosynthesis? When we burn wood, we convert the cellulose back to carbon dioxide and release the stored energy as heat. These CAM plants have a greater water-use efficiency relative to traditional crops that execute C3 and C4 photosynthesis. (1980) and Farquhar and von Caemmerer (1982) as described by Medlyn et al. This opposite pattern of gas use makes plants and people natural partners. Another medical application involves using similar chlorophyll relatives to localize in tumor tissue, and thus act as dyes which clearly delineate the boundary between cancerous and healthy tissue. A fairly direct consequence is the generally observed reduction in protein concentrations in food crops grown under elevated CO2 (Taub et al., 2008). This produces carbon dioxide, which we exhale, and the energy we need to survive. For most experimental growing conditions, however, it seems likely that the actual enhancement of photosynthesis will be less than that measured under high irradiation and warm temperatures; therefore, it is likely to be less than the enhancements reported by Drake et al. Poorter (1993) analyzed the growth response to elevated CO2 of 10 species in greater detail and found that photosynthesis expressed on a leaf area basis was enhanced by 20%, but the enhancement was only 6.5% on a weight basis because leaves also tended to be heavier per unit leaf area. This being the case, scientific research into photosynthesis is vitally important. Such a direct link to photosynthesis was also seen by Küppers et al. Burning fuel is basically the same oxidation process that occurs in our bodies; it liberates the energy of "stored sunlight" in a useful form, and returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Indeed, one widely accepted theory explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs suggests that a comet, meteor, or volcano ejected so much material into the atmosphere that the amount of sunlight reaching the earth was severely reduced. CO2 responses reported for single-plant studies generally showed much greater responses than studies where plants were grown in entire swards (Table II). However, for these different photosynthetic plant types, we are missing the tools and experimental data needed to quantify and compare water, energy, carbon, and food security benefits. Light energy from the sun is absorbed in the green pigment in plants known as chlorophyll. Photosynthetic organisms take light energy and use it to make their own "food". In the process of photosynthesis, plants decompose the molecules of hydrogen and carbon dioxide into hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, to produce glucose, which forms the source of their energy, growth, and food. The two curves in A and B refer to growth at 350 and 700 mmol mol–1, respectively. As described above, most of our current energy needs are met by photosynthesis, ancient or modern. In sugar cane, which is one of the most efficient plants, about 8% of the light absorbed by the plant is preserved as chemical energy. At lower radiation levels, photosynthesis is also generally RuBP regeneration limited. However, the pollution caused by such materials is not a necessary product of solar energy utilization. Understanding the effect of greenhouse gases requires a much better knowledge of the interaction of the plant kingdom with carbon dioxide than we have today. This discrepancy is probably due to enhanced carbohydrate availability exceeding many plants’ ability to fully utilize it due to nutrient or inherent internal growth limitations. In contrast, plants grown in small pots showed a photosynthetic enhancement of only 28% and downward acclimation of 20%. Photosynthesis is a relatively inefficient process, with only a maximum of 8% to 10% of the energy in sunlight being converted to the chemical energy in reduced sugars (Long et al., 2006; Zhu et al. (2010) also argued that most plants still have amounts and kinetic properties of Rubisco that are better suited to preindustrial CO2 concentrations, so that even under current conditions, plants generally have excess Rubisco and are more likely to be RuBP regeneration limited. The primary function of photosynthesis is to convert solar energy into chemical energy and then store that chemical energy for future use. Supplemental Appendix S1. Plants carry out this process in photosynthetic reaction centers. Through understanding, we can avoid adversely affecting the process and precipitating environmental or ecological disasters. However, how biochar amendment affects plant photosynthesis and growth remains unclear, especially on a global scale. Lower sink strength tends to lower the responsiveness of plant growth to CO2 enrichment but does not make growth completely unresponsive. 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