Photosynthetic Strategies and their Consequences for Plant Community Structure

 

K. Greg Murray, Kathy Winnett-Murray, and Lori Hertel

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2005, Volume 26

Abstract

Light is often a limiting resource for plants, which can be stimulated to higher photosynthetic rates and higher growth rates by increasing the amount of light they receive. However, many plants are well adapted to living in low-light environments, like the shaded understory of a forest. In this lab, students test working hypotheses about the photosynthetic responses of representative pioneer and primary forest tree species that might account for the successional patterns observed in the forest. Students collect data on light intensity in gap and understory patches, on growth rates of representative pioneer and primary species, and on photosynthetic rates of representative species under gap and understory light conditions.

Keywords:  photosynthesis, succession, community ecology, plant physiology, biodiversity, adaptation, plant growth, species diversity, light, light gaps, forest understory

Bowling Green State University, Ohio (2004)