Sunlight is a crucial abiotic factor in the health of living organisms. Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have identified how plants maximize efficiency for capturing enough sunlight—but not too much—for photosynthesis.
plants
Plants use only some colors in the solar spectrum
Now that biologists at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill have discovered that plants can detect shadows, a fair follow-up question might ask: When sunlight is shining on the plant, just how much of the solar light spectrum do plants use in photosynthesis?
Plants & Shadows
Plants live in a world of constantly changing light. Researchers have identified that plants actually can detect shadows using a specific tool, which helps them maximize efficiency for capturing sunlight.
This 'smart plant' factor could lead to stronger crops
This 'smart plant' factor could lead to stronger crops
April 20, 2017
Plants may be smarter than we give them credit for. They do not have brains, and therefore do not think in the same way that humans and other animals do, but they have intricate systems in place that compute the best response to the challenges of daily life.
Plant Reproduction: Lesson Plan
Pollen causes sneezing and runny noses, but it is also the crucial component in the sexual reproduction of plants and trees.
Tropism and Dormancy: Lesson Plan
Plants can move toward or away from a stimulus (tropism), or halt their growth completely (dormancy) when conditions are not ideal.
50 Shades of Green
Researchers apply high tech science to traditional farming methods to help farmers produce higher yields that are also drought and disease resistant.
Healing Gardens: Lesson Plan
Learn about photosynthesis: the natural process that fuels the living world.
A Library of Plants: Lesson Plan
Explain how the use, protection and conservation of natural resources impact the environment, including biodiversity, from one generation to the next, then learn how researchers in North Carolina are helping to conserve and preserve native plants by saving seeds in a long-term seed storage facility.
Greening the Golf Course: Lesson Plan
Learn about native North Carolina plants, then discover how plant scientists and groundskeepers have used plants that are native to North Carolina to create an environmentally-sustainable golf course.