Table of Contents
What is meant by the light compensation point?
The compensation point is the light intensity at which the rate of photosynthesis is equal to the rate of respiration. A similar graph will be obtained if oxygen production is plotted against light intensity.
What is the light compensation point and what happens at this point?
The light intensity at which the net amount of oxygen produced is exactly zero, is called the compensation point for light. At this point the consumption of oxygen by the plant due to cellular respiration is equal to the rate at which oxygen is produced by photosynthesis.
Do plants grow at compensation point?
Photosynthesis, in contrast, occurs only in light and uses up carbon dioxide and makes oxygen. There is a light intensity at which respiration and photosynthesis cancel each other out. This is called the compensation point. Below this level carbohydrates are used up and the plant cannot grow.
What affects light compensation point?
The compensation depth between photosynthesis and respiration of phytoplankton in the ocean must be dependent on some factors: the illumination at the surface, the transparency of the water, the biological character of the plankton present, and the temperature.
What happens at compensation point?
The Compensation Point is the point at which Photosynthesis and Respiration are in balance, so (in a perfect world) the amount of oxygen being produced by photosynthesis will just balance the amount being used by respiration. At this point there will be NO oxygen bubbles being produced in the leaf discs.
What is light compensation depth?
The depth at which primary production equals respiration is called the compensation depth. The compensation depth coincides with the depth in the ocean where the light level is 0.1% to 1% of the amount of the sunlight entering the surface of the ocean. This also coincides with the bottom of the euphotic zone.
Why is the compensation point important?
The compensation point (Ic) is the irradiance at which photosynthesis equals respiration. It is a useful estimate of the lowest irradiance at which algae can maintain an autotrophic existence.
What happens at compensation depth?
The depth at which primary production equals respiration is called the compensation depth. Above this depth, phytoplankton can make a living; below this depth, they cannot and either die or go into a resting stage to await better light conditions. They can live but cannot grow or reproduce.
At what depth does the Aphotic zone begin?
The aphotic zone exists in depths below 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). Sunlight does not penetrate to these depths and the zone is bathed in darkness.
What can change the compensation depth?
Once sunlight penetrates the water, the compensation depth varies with ocean conditions. For example, with an increase in production there is an increase in phytoplankton populations, as well as the numbers of zooplankton that eat the phytoplankton.
What effects the carbonate compensation depth?
The carbonate compensation depth, or CCD, is defined as the water depth at which the rate of supply of calcium carbonate from the surface is equal to the rate of dissolution. As long as the ocean floor lies above the CCD, carbonate particles will accumulate in bottom sediments, but below, there is no net accumulation.