Effects of Light on Plants

Light and Chlorophyll

Plants require light in order to survive, but the role of light in the life of a plant is much more complex than the plant sitting in the sun for several hours each day. It is what is happening inside the plant while it's absorbing those rays. A plant needs food, air, water and light. If you were to take a bucket, or small plastic swimming pool and place it in the yard on top of green grass for a couple of days and then remove it, you would notice whitish-yellow grass in place of the green grass. Note that the roots of plants, which do not receive light, are typically white. Chlorophyll is responsible for a plant's color and is a direct result of being exposed to light.

Photosynthesis

Plants use the daytime to soak up the energy of the sun. As water is received from the roots of the plant, the plant processes the water and nutrients to form a type of glucose to be used as fuel. As glucose is being produced, oxygen is released from the plant. When nighttime approaches, the opposite process begins. Plants breathe oxygen through roots, stems and leaves and the energy used to "breathe" releases some of the fuel, or glucose, that allows plants to sprout new foliage. When plants burn stored energy, this process activates the release of carbon dioxide from the plant. This process is called photosynthesis.

Photoperiodism

Light is a factor for another process that plants experience, called photoperiodism. This is a process whereby the length and extent of light determines the growing processes of plants. An example of some of the growing processes plants experience include: sprouting, growing, budding, blooming, flowering, and finally the production of seed. If you were to experiment using two or three plants, planted at the same time and then controlling how much light each one receives, you would notice that after a period of time, the plants would appear to have been planted at different times considering their varying stages of growth.

Light is a Crucial Element

Light is necessary for the survival of plants as light serves as the primary energy source. Without light, there would be an absence of chlorophyll, and a domino effect would follow. An absence of chlorophyll would lead to the nonexistence of oxygen and carbon dioxide. With light vital to the survival of plant life, the trickle-down effect illustrates that light's effect on plants is a crucial element for other living processes, such as humans.