Breathing is an integral part in the life of every living creature. Everyone needs oxygen - both fish and people, and animals. It would seem, why does a fish need air, because it lives under water? Water is saturated with oxygen, which underwater creatures need. Now we will talk about how respiration in the leaves of plants occurs. It is important to know that in the process of plant respiration not only leaves are involved, but also stems and roots. You will learn about all this from our article.
Respiration in plant leaves occurs through photosynthesis. The difference between plants and other living things lies in the fact that the trees absorb the spent oxygen, that is, carbon dioxide, and in return they give us what we need. We proceed to a more detailed discussion of this issue.
Breath
Breath in the leaves of plants occurs around the clock, seven days a week. At the same time, the plant absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere, but can also use the product of its work, that is, oxygen formed by photosynthesis (which is needed for human breathing and other living things). The product of photosynthesis accumulates in the intercellular spaces, it is necessary for breathing at night.
How is night breathing different from daytime breathing? Everyone needs to breathe day and night. Atmospheric oxygen in the daytime actively enters through the stomata, shoots, roots, and stem. But what to do in the dark, when the stomata of the leaves are closed in most cases? This is where the stock collected during daylight hours, which is located in the intercellular spaces, comes to the rescue. From there, the product of photosynthesis enters all the cells of the plant, providing vital activity. Therefore, it is worth remembering that respiration in the leaves of plants always occurs, only the process itself may differ slightly in the light and dark time of the day.
Also keep in mind that the process of respiration and photosynthesis are completely opposite processes. When breathing, plants absorb oxygen, but they need much less than the same plant reproduces during photosynthesis. This is a rather complex process, the absorbed oxygen oxidizes (turns) the complex substances of the plant into two components:
What complex substances are we talking about? First of all, it concerns glucose. The breathing process releases a large amount of energy that has been expended on photosynthesis. During this process, as we mentioned earlier, carbon dioxide is also formed, which is removed through:
- stomata;
- lentils;
- the roots.
There is plenty of evidence that carbon dioxide is actually produced by plants, but in very small quantities.
Gas exchange
So, breathing in the leaves of plants occurs in the cells of organs located along the entire surface, but these cells are also on the surface of the stem, roots, and so on. But it is important to know that the main gas circulation occurs through the leaves of the plant. In the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide enters through the gap in the stomatal cells, then it goes on to chlorophyll-containing tissues. The formation of oxygen takes place, which is able to reach the surface, into our environment. And in the process of breathing, everything happens the other way around, the plant consumes oxygen, and releases carbon dioxide to the surface.
But it is important to know that in the process of photosynthesis a very large amount of oxygen is created, which is sufficient not only for plant respiration, but also for enrichment of the environment. As we can see, these processes are opposite, but are highly interconnected. It is green plants that are able to supply all life on earth with the oxygen they need.
In addition to oxygen, plants also release water vapor, which also exits through the stomata. This process is called transpiration. All gas exchange processes are regulated by closing or opening the stomatal gap.
Aerobic breathing
Now we need to clarify that the respiration of the leaf and the entire plant can be divided into two phases: aerobic and anaerobic. A bit about the first type. Aerobic respiration occurs as an oxidative process. As is known, oxygen is wasted during oxidation. This process can be divided into two stages:
In the first stage, hydrogen is released by cleaving the substrate. At the second stage, further atomic cleavage proceeds.
Anaerobic respiration
The respiration of a plant leaf occurs, as we have said, in two stages. Now let's say a few words about anaerobic respiration. Which is the process of oxidation of molecular hydrogen. As a result of this biochemical process, energy is released, which is a reserve for the synthesis of ATP.