Light Vs. Temperature

[Michael W]

So I was reading an article on Tropica's website and they commented on temperature affecting the metabolism of animal and plant- and quite rightly so. But It got me thinking how much influence does the temp have on the plant compared to that of the light? I'm guessing the light will prevail in affecting the plant more but out of curiosity I want to know the temp's part too.

Also, could the temp influence the amount of light needed for a plant in the aquarium? I have a feeling that perhaps there is little to no correlation but why not ask the experts rather than guessing? 😀

 

[ceg4048]

Both light and temperature have an effect on plant growth. Each has a different mechanism by which it acts, so it's not appropriate to compare the two. For example, for every temperature there is a range of lighting that will be acceptable. When the temperature falls outside of the acceptable range then no amount of light can compensate for the failure.

Depending on the origin of the plants their light and temperature tolerances will vary. Ferns and anubias, for example can do well in lower temperatures and reduced lighting. Speed of growth will be low, but the plant can be very healthy otherwise. Somewhere from the high teens to high 20's C will work for most plants. Temperature has the predominant effect of modulating the rate of chemical reactions in the plant. certain organic chemicals, such as enzymes, for example, will not react chemically as they should when the temperature falls outside the acceptable range, and that has nothing to do with how much light there is. The plant will simply stop functioning.

Light, of course is the principal ingredient in energy conversion from photonic energy into chemical energy. Since the plant uses thousands of enzymes to run the photosynthetic machinery, temperature can have a critical effect on the photosynthetic reaction rate.

Cheers,

 

[Michael W]

Thanks for the explanation Clive, much appreciated.