Plant Physiological Adaptations Induced by Low Rates of Photosynthesis

Abstract

Abstract Among the adaptory responses of plants to different ecological conditions the adaptation to low light intensities is one of the most important. This response, known as “shade adaptation”, may, however, be similarly induced by decreasing the rate of photosynthesis in other ways. The partial inhibition of photosynthetic electron flow with herbicides has clearly been shown to induce shade- type plants; in the case of photosynthetic limitation by decreased CO2-availability only certain aspects of the shade-type metabolism - namely the changes occurring in the nitrogen metabolism - have been demonstrated.