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LESSON III
THE CLIMATIC
FACTORS INCLUDE RAINFALL AND WATER,
LIGHT, TEMPERATURE, AIR, AND WIND. THEY
ARE ABIOTIC COMPONENTS,
INCLUDING TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL, OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE
PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
TOPOGRAPHY ACTS AS A FILTER BETWEEN
REGIONAL CLIMATE AND THE CONSEQUENT
RESPONSE OF A GLACIER OR ICE SHEET. IT
INFLUENCES THE MASS AND ENERGY INPUTS
AND MODIFIES THE ICE DYNAMICS. THE
EVOLUTION OF THE ICE SHEET SURFACE AND,
OVER LONGER TIME SCALES, OF THE BED
TOPOGRAPHY MODULATES THE CLIMATIC
FORCING.
RAINFALL AND WATER
RAINFALL IS THE MOST COMMON FORM
OF PRECIPITATION. IT IS THE FALLING OF WATER
IN DROPLETS ON THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
FROM CLOUDS. OTHER FORMS OF PRECIPITATION
ARE FREEZING RAIN, SLEET OR ICE
PELLETS, SNOWFALL, AND HAIL . THE AMOUNT
AND REGULARITY OF RAINFALL VARY WITH
LOCATION AND CLIMATE TYPES AND AFFECT THE
DOMINANCE OF CERTAIN TYPES OF VEGETATION
AS WELL AS CROP GROWTH AND
YIELD. PRECIPITATION IS ANY PRODUCT OF THE
CONDENSATION OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR
THAT FALLS UNDER GRAVITY.[2]THE MAIN FORMS
OF PRECIPITATION INCLUDE DRIZZLE, RAIN,
SLEET, SNOW, GRAUPEL AND HAIL.
LIGHT
LIGHT IS A CLIMATIC FACTOR THAT IS ESSENTIAL
IN THE PRODUCTION OF CHLOROPHYLL AND IN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS, THE PROCESS BY WHICH
PLANTS MANUFACTURE FOOD IN THE FORM OF
SUGAR (CARBOHYDRATE). OTHER PLANT
PROCESSES THAT ARE ENHANCED OR INHIBITED
BY THIS CLIMATIC FACTOR INCLUDE STOMATAL
MOVEMENT, PHOTOTROPISM, PHOTOMORPHOGEN
ESIS, TRANSLOCATION, MINERAL ABSORPTION,
AND ABSCISSION PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS A
PROCESS USED BY PLANTS AND OTHER
ORGANISMS TO CONVERT LIGHT ENERGY INTO
CHEMICAL ENERGY THAT CAN LATER BE
RELEASED TO FUEL THE ORGANISMS' ACTIVITIES
(ENERGY TRANSFORMATION).
LIGHT IS THAT VISIBLE PORTION OF THE SOLAR
RADIATION OR ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM. IT IS A
FORM OF KINETIC ENERGY THAT COMES FROM THE
SUN IN TINY PARTICLES
CALLED QUANTA OR PHOTONS, TRAVELLING IN WAVES.
THREE PROPERTIES OF THIS CLIMATIC FACTOR THAT
AFFECT PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ARE
LIGHT QUALITY, LIGHT INTENSITY, AND DAYLENGTH
OR PHOTOPERIOD. LIGHT QUALITY REFERS TO THE
SPECIFIC WAVELENGTHS OF LIGHT; LIGHT
INTENSITY IS THE DEGREE OF BRIGHTNESS THAT A
PLANT RECEIVES; AND DAYLENGTH IS THE DURATION
OF THE DAY WITH RESPECT TO THE NIGHT PERIOD.
TEMPERATURE
THE DEGREE OF HOTNESS OR COLDNESS OF A
SUBSTANCE IS CALLED TEMPERATURE . IT IS
COMMONLY EXPRESSED IN DEGREE CELSIUS OR
CENTIGRADE (C) AND DEGREE FAHRENHEIT (F) .
THIS CLIMATIC FACTOR INFLUENCES ALL PLANT
GROWTH PROCESSES SUCH AS PHOTOSYNTHESIS
, RESPIRATION, TRANSPIRATION, BREAKING OF
SEED DORMANCY, SEED GERMINATION, PROTEIN
SYNTHESIS, AND TRANSLOCATION. AT HIGH
TEMPERATURES THE TRANSLOCATION OF
PHOTOSYNTHATE IS FASTER SO THAT PLANTS
TEND TO MATURE EARLIER.
IN GENERAL, PLANTS SURVIVE WITHIN A
TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 0 TO 50 C. THE FAVORABLE
OR OPTIMAL DAY AND NIGHT TEMPERATURE RANGE
FOR PLANT GROWTH AND MAXIMUM YIELDS VARIES
AMONG CROP SPECIES. EXCESSIVELY LOW
TEMPERATURES CAN ALSO CAUSE LIMITING EFFECTS
ON PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. FOR
EXAMPLE, WATER ABSORPTION IS INHIBITED WHEN
THE SOIL TEMPERATURE IS LOW BECAUSE WATER IS
MORE VISCUOUS AT LOW TEMPERATURES AND LESS
MOBILE, AND THE PROTOPLASM IS LESS PERMEABLE.
AT TEMPERATURES BELOW THE FREEZING POINT OF
WATER, THERE IS CHANGE IN THE FORM OF WATER
FROM LIQUID TO SOLID. THE EXPANSION OF WATER AS
IT SOLIDIFIES IN LIVING CELLS CAUSES THE RUPTURE
OF THE CELL WALLS
THE TROPOSPHERE, THE INNERMOST LAYER OF
THE ATMOSPHERE WHICH EXTENDS ABOUT 17
KM ABOVE SEA LEVEL AT THE EQUATOR AND
ABOUT 8 KM OVER THE POLES.
IN ADDITION, ABOUT 99% OF THE CLEAN, DRY
AIR IN THE TROPOSPHERE CONSISTS OF 78%
NITROGEN AND 21% OXYGEN. THE REMAINDER
CONSISTS OF ARGON (SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 1%),
CARBON DIOXIDE (0.036%), AND TRACES OF
OTHER GASES.
THE OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE AIR
ARE OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE TO THE
PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANTS. OXYGEN IS ESSENTIAL
IN RESPIRATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF
ENERGY THAT IS UTILIZED IN VARIOUS GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES. CARBON
DIOXIDE IS A RAW MATERIAL IN
PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
OR LOCAL SCALE CAUSED BY DIFFERENCES IN
HEATING. ON A GLOBAL SCALE IT CONSISTS OF
THE JET STREAM FLOW AND MOVEMENT OF LARGE
AIR MASSES. ON THE LOCAL SCALE ONLY A
SMALLER QUANTITY OF AIR MOVES. SURFACE
WINDS ARE LOWER AND LESS TURBULENT AT
NIGHT DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF SOLAR HEATING.
WHEN AIR THAT IS CLOSE TO THE GROUND COOLS,
IT CONTRACTS AND THE PRESSURE RISES; WHEN
IT WARMS, IT EXPANDS AND LOSES PRESSURE.
WHERE BOTH COLD AND WARM AIR OCCUR IN
PROXIMITY, AS OVER A LAKE AND ITS ADJACENT
SHORE, THE COLD FLOWS TO THE DIRECTION OF
THE WARM AIR OR FROM HIGH TO LOW PRESSURE
AREA TO CORRECT THE PRESSURE IMBALANCE.
THIS ALSO HAPPENS IN TROPICAL ASIA BUT IN A
LARGER AND MORE COMPLEX WAY, AS
THE MONSOON WINDS
PLANT GROWTH
A VASCULAR PLANT BEGINS FROM A SINGLE CELLED ZYGOTE, FORMED BY FERTILISATION OF AN EGG CELL BY A SPERM CELL. FROM THAT POINT, IT BEGINS TO DIVIDE TO FORM A PLANT EMBRYO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF EMBRYOGENESIS. AS THIS HAPPENS, THE RESULTING
CELLS WILL ORGANIZE SO THAT ONE END BECOMES THE FIRST ROOT WHILE THE OTHER END FORMS THE TIP OF THE SHOOT. IN SEED PLANTS, THE EMBRYO WILL DEVELOP ONE OR MORE "SEED LEAVES" (COTYLEDONS). BY THE END OF EMBRYOGENESIS, THE YOUNG PLANT WILL
HAVE ALL THE PARTS NECESSARY TO BEGIN IN ITS LIFE. EMBRYOGENESIS IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE EMBRYO FORMS AND DEVELOPS. VASCULAR PLANTS , ALSO KNOWN AS TRACHEOPHYTES AND ALSO HIGHER PLANTS, FORM A LARGE GROUP OF PLANTS THAT ARE
DEFINED AS THOSE LAND PLANTS THAT HAVE LIGNIFIED TISSUES (THE XYLEM) FOR CONDUCTING WATER AND MINERALS THROUGHOUT THE PLANT.
STEMS, AND ROOTS) THROUGH THE PROCESS
OF ORGANOGENESIS. NEW ROOTS GROW FROM
ROOT MERISTEMS LOCATED AT THE TIP OF THE
ROOT, AND NEW STEMS AND LEAVES GROW
FROM SHOOT MERISTEMS LOCATED AT THE TIP
OF THE SHOOT.[3] BRANCHING OCCURS WHEN
SMALL CLUMPS OF CELLS LEFT BEHIND BY THE
MERISTEM, AND WHICH HAVE NOT YET
UNDERGONE CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION TO
FORM A SPECIALIZED TISSUE, BEGIN TO GROW
AS THE TIP OF A NEW ROOT OR SHOOT. GROWTH
FROM ANY SUCH MERISTEM AT THE TIP OF A
ROOT OR SHOOT IS TERMED PRIMARY GROWTH
AND RESULTS IN THE LENGTHENING OF THAT
ROOT OR SHOOT. SECONDARY GROWTH
RESULTS IN WIDENING OF A ROOT OR SHOOT
FROM DIVISIONS OF CELLS IN A CAMBIUM.
OCCURS WHEN INDIVIDUAL CELLS OR
GROUPS OF CELLS GROW LONGER. NOT
ALL PLANT CELLS GROW TO THE SAME
LENGTH. WHEN CELLS ON ONE SIDE OF
A STEM GROW LONGER AND FASTER
THAN CELLS ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE
STEM BENDS TO THE SIDE OF THE
SLOWER GROWING CELLS AS A RESULT.
THIS DIRECTIONAL GROWTH CAN
OCCUR VIA A PLANT'S RESPONSE TO A
PARTICULAR STIMULUS, SUCH AS
LIGHT (PHOTOTROPISM), GRAVITY (
GRAVITROPISM), WATER, (
HYDROTROPISM), AND PHYSICAL
CONTACT (THIGMOTROPISM).
ARE MEDIATED BY SPECIFIC
PLANT HORMONES AND PLANT
GROWTH REGULATORS (PGRS) (ROSS ET
AL. 1983).[5] ENDOGENOUS HORMONE
LEVELS ARE INFLUENCED BY PLANT
AGE, COLD HARDINESS, DORMANCY,
AND OTHER METABOLIC CONDITIONS;
PHOTOPERIOD, DROUGHT,
TEMPERATURE, AND OTHER EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS; AND
EXOGENOUS SOURCES OF PGRS, E.G.,
EXTERNALLY APPLIED AND OF
RHIZOSPHERIC ORIGIN.
QUIZ
DIRECTION: ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW, WRITE YOUR ANSWERS
IN ¼ SHEET OF PAPER.
1.] WHAT ARE THE CLIMATIC FACTORS?
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2.] WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF PLANT GROWTH?
1________________ 6____________
2________________
3________________
4________________
5________________
ANSWERS:[IN ANY ORDER]
1.] RAINFALL AND WATER
LIGHT
TEMPERATURE
AIR
WIND
2.] SPROUT
SEEDLING
VEGETATIVE
BUDDING
FLOWERING
RIPENING
THE CLIMATIC
FACTORS INCLUDE RAINFALL AND WATER,
LIGHT, TEMPERATURE, AIR, AND WIND.