Main Factors Determining the Rate of Photosynthesis in Biology
Photosynthesis is a biochemical process of stopping food substances such as carbohydrates carried out by plants, which are mainly plants that contain leafy or chlorophyll. And in addition to high-calorie plants, other non-chlorophyll living things that photosynthesize are algae and several types of bacteria. For these organisms to photosynthesize using nutrients, carbon dioxide and water and the help of sunlight energy.
The Main Determinants of Photosynthesis Rate
For photosynthetic organisms called photoautotrophs because they can make their own food. In plants, algae and cyanobacteria, photosynthesis is carried out by utilizing carbon dioxide and water and producing waste oxygen products. Photosynthesis is very important for all aerobic life on earth because in addition to being able to maintain normal levels of oxygen in the atmosphere, photosynthesis is also a source of energy for almost all life on earth, both directly "through primary production" or indirectly "as the main source of energy in his food ".
The Main Determinants of Photosynthesis Rate
In the process of photosynthesis influenced by several factors namely factors that can affect directly such as environmental conditions and factors that do not affect directly such as the disruption of some organ functions that are important for the process of photosynthesis.
The process of photosynthesis is actually sensitive to several environmental conditions including the presence of sunlight, sehu environment and the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). In environmental factors this is known as a limiting factor and directly affects the rate of photosynthesis. So here are the main factors determining the rate of photosynthesis, namely:
The intensity of the light "beams", wavelength and temperature
In the early 120th century Frederick Frost Blackman and Albert Einstein investigated the effect of the intensity of light "emitting" and temperature on the level of carbon assimilation. In this study the conclusions are:
In fixed sushu, the level of carbon assimilation varies with emission initially increasing with the increase in emission. However, at higher emission levels, this relationship does not last long and the level of carbon assimilation is constant.
In fixed transmissions, the level of carbon assimilation increases as the temperature rises to a limited extent. This influence can be seen only at high transmission rates. At low emissions, increasing the temperature has little effect on the level of carbon assimilation.
Carbon dioxide levels and photorespiration
As the carbon dioxide concentration increases, the level of sugar produced by the light-dependent reaction increases until it is limited by other factors. Rubisco, an enzyme that increases carbon dioxide in dark reactions, has a binding affinity for carbon and oxygen. When the concentration of carbon dioxide is high, RuBisCo will fix carbon dioxide. However, if the carbon dioxide concentration is low, RuBisCo will bind oxygen and not carbon dioxide. Which in this process is called photorespiration which uses energy but does not produce sugar.
Factors supporting the Photosynthesis Rate
In addition to the 2 main factors above there are more supporting factors that determine the rate of photosynthesis, namely:
Temperature
The enzymes that work in the process of photosynthesis can only work at their optimal temperature. Generally the rate of photosynthesis increases with increasing temperature to the tolerance limit of the enzyme.
Water content
Lack of water or dryness causes the stomata to close, inhibiting the absorption of carbon dioxide thereby reducing the rate of photosynthesis.
Levels of Photosynthesis "Photosynthetic Results"
If the level of photosynthates such as carbohydrates decreases, the rate of photosynthesis will increase, if the level of photosynthate increases or even to saturation, the rate of photosynthesis will decrease.
Growth Stage
In research shows that the rate of photosynthesis is much higher in plants that are germinating than mature plants. This is probably because germinating plants need more energy and food to grow.