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The earliest recorded observation of this behavior in plants dates back to 324 BC when Androsthenes of Thasos, a companion to Alexander the Great, noted the opening and closing of tamarind tree leaves from day to night. [15] Carl Linnaeus (1729) proposed that this was the plants sleeping, but this idea has been widely contested.
CAM plants, such as cacti and succulent plants, also use the enzyme PEP carboxylase to capture carbon dioxide, but only at night. Crassulacean acid metabolism allows plants to conduct most of their gas exchange in the cooler night-time air, sequestering carbon in 4-carbon sugars which can be released to the photosynthesizing cells during the day.
The pineapple is an example of a CAM plant.. Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions [1] that allows a plant to photosynthesize during the day, but only exchange gases at night.
9% (collected as sugar) → 35–40% of sugar is recycled/consumed by the leaf in dark and photo-respiration, leaving; 5.4% net leaf efficiency. Many plants lose much of the remaining energy on growing roots. Most crop plants store ~0.25% to 0.5% of the sunlight in the product (corn kernels, potato starch, etc.).
Time-lapse video of a night-blooming cereus. During the day, plants engage in photosynthesis and release oxygen. By night, plants engage in respiration, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. [74] Plants can draw up more water after sunset, which facilitates new leaf growth. [75]
The CO 2 compensation point (Γ) is the CO 2 concentration at which the rate of photosynthesis exactly matches the rate of respiration. There is a significant difference in Γ between C 3 plants and C 4 plants: on land, the typical value for Γ in a C 3 plant ranges from 40–100 μmol/mol, while in C 4 plants the values are lower at 3–10 μmol/mol. Plants with a weaker CCM, such as C2 ...
If a plant is incapable of bringing in enough water to remain in equilibrium with transpiration an event known as cavitation occurs. [15] Cavitation is when the plant cannot supply its xylem with adequate water so instead of being filled with water the xylem begins to be filled with water vapor.
At night, transpiration usually does not occur, because most plants have their stomata closed. When there is a high soil moisture level, water will enter plant roots, because the water potential of the roots is lower than in the soil solution. The water will accumulate in the plant, creating a slight root pressure.