DOES  PHOTOSYNTHESIS  OCCURS WHEN  MOONLIGHT  SHINES  ON  A PLANT?

Photosynthesis uses the energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into glucose and oxygen. Some of this glucose is used to build plant cells and some is converted back into CO2 and water to provide energy for the plant’s metabolism. The light from a full Moon on a clear night is only about one sixthousandth the brightness of an overcast day, but photosynthesis reactions will still occur, just 6,000 times more slowly. This is too slow to be useful to the plant because it will actually gain less CO2 from photosynthesis than it loses from the respiration of its cells. As the Sun rises each day, photosynthesis becomes more and more effective until the plant absorbs just enough CO2 to keep up with the amount burned for energy. This is called the ‘compensation point’ and it occurs in the early morning and then again in the late evening as the light levels drop again. Outside of these times, photosynthesis isn’t useful to the plant and many plants close their leaves at night so it doesn’t disrupt the circadian rhythms that control flowering.

Like us on FACEBOOK