FaithJames 121113 HowdoesGlobalWarmingAffectPhotosynthesis? Weknowglobalwarmingaffectsmanythings,butdidyouknowitaffectshowaplant photosynthesizes?Globalwarmingpreventsplantsfromtakinginasmuchcarbondioxideasit normallycould,evaporateswaterplantsneedtophotosynthesize,andiftherearefloodsfrom themeltingofthepolaricecaps,therootsofplantswouldtakeintoomuchwaterandwould starttorot. Globalwarming,moreoftheraiseoftemperature,closestheporesofplantswhich savestheirwaterstoresfromevaporating,butlimitsthecarbondioxideintakethroughtheplants leavesloweringhowmuchtheyphotosynthesizecomparedtohowmuchtheycouldinnormal temperatures.Thegraphbelowillustrateshowmuchaplantphotosynthesizesindifferent temperaturesandshowstheidealtemperaturesforphotosynthesis.ButWhyshouldwecare aboutthis?Onebenefitofphotosynthesisistheoxygenreleasedbackintotheatmosphere.

Sincetheplantsarenttakingasmuchcarbondioxideastheynormallycould,theyarentputting outasmuchoxygen,either(Tomm,2010).Asaresult,theamountofoxygenavailableto humansandothermammalswillalsodecrease,leavinguspollutedandunbreathableair.The raisingtemperaturesdoesntaffectjustthecarbondioxideintakeofaplant. Oneeffectofglobalwarmingthatisaffectingmuchofthenaturalworldistheevaporation ofwater.Globalwarmingevaporatesthewaterthatplantsneedinordertomakefood.Asthe temperaturesraise,theplantsporescloseevenmore,meaningtheytakeinlesswater(Tomm, 2010).Takinglesswaterisfatalforplants.SinceH2Oisimportantinthephotosynthesis process,thelackofwaterwouldresultindehydrationandeventually,theplantwilldie.Drought preventsplantsfrommakingcropsandtheamountoffoodforanimalsaswellashumanswill decrease,nottomentionitdecreasestheamountofwaterforanimalsandhumans,too.Where toolittlewaterhasfatalresultsforplants,toomuchwaterisjustasbad. Asthetemperaturescontinuetoraise,thepolaricecapswillmeltandwaterlevelswill raise,floodingareasoftheland.Whenthesoilcollectstoomuchwater,therootsoftheplants willbegintorotbecausetheoxygenthatistrappedwithinthesoilispushedoutandifthereisno oxygeninthesoil,therootsystemswillstarttobreakdownanddecompose(Ryan,2013).Not onlyistoolittlewaterdeadlytoplants,buttoomuchisevenworse.Floodingoffarmfieldswillkill thecropsandwillreducetheamountoffoodfarmerswillbeabletoharvestmeaningtherewill belessfoodforusinthelongrun.Ifthefloodrecedes,itwillleavebehindsedimentlikegarbage, foreignplantseeds,invasivebugsandfishandevenpesticidesandmanurefromotherfarms. Thiscouldpoisonthecropsandwouldproducefoodunfitforhumanoranimalconsumption. Whenwethinkofglobalwarming,mostthinkoftheairpollutionormeltingofthepolar icecaps,butglobalwarmingaffectsmuchmorethanweareawareof.Itpreventsplantsfrom beingabletophotosynthesizeandbecauseofthat,theairpollutiongrows,andcropsdryupand fieldsflood,resultinginlessfoodforthegrowingpopulation.Globalwarming,causedby humans,canalsobefixedbyhumans.Ifweworktogethertofixtheproblemofglobalwarming bydoingsimplethingslikeusinglessgasandgoinggreen,wecansaveourselvesfromthe starvationoffailingcropsandthepollutionofuncleanair.

35degreesCelsius=95degreesFahrenheit 1degreesCelsius=33.8degreesFahrenheit