Photosynthesis: what is it and how is it linked to climate change?

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to another post, this time about photosynthesis! This is an extremely important process that I've learnt a lot about in school and lots of you may know about it but this will hopefully refresh your memory!

What is it?

Photosynthesis is a natural process that takes place in a leaf. It turns carbon dioxide into oxygen, which is so important for climate change, but more on that later! This enables the leaf to get energy. The equation is as follows:

Carbon Dioxide + Water ~> Glucose + Oxygen

CO₂ + H₂O ~> C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂

It's hard to write it on here but to make the glucose and oxygen you need sunlight and chlorophyll.

How does it happen?

To understand this, you need to know a little about the structure of the cross-section of a leaf. Just type 'cross section of a leaf' into whatever search engine you're using and find one that makes sense for you.

The photosynthesis happens in the palisade cell, near the top. These are specially adapted cells that have more chloroplasts (that contain chlorophyll), as chloroplasts are the organelles that make photosynthesis happen. They also have a thinner cell wall to let more sunlight in. The stomata also have a big role. They let the carbon dioxide in and the oxygen out. I hope this explains how photosynthesis happens.

How is it linked to climate change?

Photosynthesis, in my mind, is the clear way out of climate change. It isn't the whole solution but it will most likely play a big part. From all I've already said, I think you can imagine why. Plants take in carbon dioxide and make it into oxygen. So to all the people who say that we are going to invent machines that suck carbon dioxide out of the air, I say this: we already have them. It's called a tree.

I hope this explains what photosynthesis is and how it is linked to climate change. Thank you for your support!

Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/photosynthesis/

Image: Forest, owned by Mika Hiironniemi (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

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