Factors Affecting Photosynthesis

Limiting Factor: It is a factor of many affecting a process which is at its lowest value and thus is a
rate-limiting factor.
- Light intensity:
Low light intensity: As light intensity increases the rate of the photochemical light dependent
reactions increases, causing the rate of photosynthesis to increase linearly. At this point light
intensity is the limiting factor.
High light intensity: As light intensity reaches much higher levels, light intensity is no longer
the rate limiting factor and the rate of photosynthesis plateaus.

- Temperature:
Lower temperatures: As temperatures increase, the light independent reactions increase their
rate. This is because as temperatures increase the reactants in the reactions of
photosynthesis have greater kinetic energy and thus collide more often. The light dependent
reactions are not affected by the change in temperature.
Higher temperatures: At temperatures exceeding the optimum temperature for the enzymes
involved in photosynthesis, the rate of photosynthesis decreases steeply.

- Carbon dioxide concentration: This has the same explanation as light intensity and thus the
same graph.

- Light wavelength:
From wavelengths around 400-450nm and then from 600-700nm the rate of photosynthesis is
high, with the 600-700nm range having the highest rate of photosynthesis among the two.
Between these two ranges the rate of photosynthesis is relatively low.
The reason for this is explained later.
- Using above information to grow plants in protected environments
With the knowledge we have about the factors which affect photosynthesis, we can grow
plants in protected environments, such as glass houses, where these factors are carefully
controlled to produce the maximum crop yield. Many tomatoes are grown this way.
- Factors such as light intensity, humidity, temperature, and the atmospheric level of carbon
dioxide are controlled.
- The glasshouses have the added advantage of protecting the crop from insect pests and
fungal diseases.
If
plants
are grown hydroponically, this means that their roots are in a nutrient solution whose

nutrient content is varied at different stages of plant growth.