Temperature
CO2 concentration
Light intensity
If photosynthesis had no limiting factors, what would glasshouse growers have to exploit?
Precisely. Photosynthesis, just like all other physiological processes in living things as well as chemicals and beyond, is subject to external influences. The main factors that weigh in on the efficiency and speed of photosynthesis are:
Temperature
CO2 Concentration
Light intensity
Both the concentration of carbon dioxide and the intensity of light are similar in that they are both direct ingredients in the overall photosynthesis reaction. But since temperature insists on having the first say, let it be that way…
Temperature
The optimum for a lot of plants is 25 degrees Celsius – regardless, the rate of photosynthesis forms a bell curve in response to increasing temperature:
The rate of photosynthesis is sluggish at lower temperatures, while at higher temperatures it drops sharply. What’s happening? It’s all in the enzymes. Enzymes are subject to the same laws of thermodynamics as everything else. Put simply, temperature influences the random movement and collisions between molecules; at low temperatures the movement decreases, so the……