Ozone: Not Just Gas?

I have recently found out that the ozone layer has a huge effect on plants everywhere across the globe.  The ozone layer helps filter in light from the sun to these plants just so that they can grow properly.  But, what I ask you, is what happens when the ozone layer is damaged? How do the plants react?  Well with the help of some websites and my own knowledge I will help you understand what effects the ozone layer has on plants and photosynthesis.

The ozone layer has been growing weaker in certain places around the globe; or at least this is the theory of global warming.  When UV radiation is allowed to get past the ozone layer in large amounts catastrophes can happen.  I have found from a website that recent attenuation studies have revealed that solar UV-B exposure reduces the biomass production of some plant species by 10%-35%(http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/134/1/16.full)  Excess UV-B exposure of non-acclimated plants impairs all of the main processes of leaf photosynthesis, particularly Photosystem II.  If plants can’t perform photosynthesis correctly then how do they grow?

I feel that if the world doesn’t do something about their carbon emissions and global warming then we will lose most plant life on our planet.  Plants use a certain amount of light energy to perform photosynthesis so the can turn that light energy into a single glucose molecule which then enters their mitochondria to be used as fuel.  Through the process of photosynthesis during the light-dependent reaction oxygen gas (O2) is released into the atmosphere.  If photosynthesis is stopped because of too much heat and radiation then how will the world get its’ oxygen?  If plants die then we die.

To back up the main point that plants are affected by certain amounts  of to certain amounts of solar radiation I found this website for everyone to look at.  http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2008/08/22/even_seaweeds_get_sunburned.html.  This website says that “Many plants react sensitively to an increased dose of ultraviolet radiation, too. Yet they are dependent on sunlight. With the help of pigments absorbing solar energy and light, plants produce their vitally important building blocks by means of photosynthesis. However, this has its limits: too much sun means an over-abundance of energy and thus the destruction of the sensitive pigments. The results are black spots, pale leaves and rotten parts”.  I think that this shows that ozone layer depletion can affect photosynthesis.

As you can see the ozone layer is the invisible and largely unknown hero of earth, but it can also be its worst enemy.  If ozone depletion goes along how it is now eventually we could have very little plant life left on earth.  Plants supply our source of oxygen and also take up carbon dioxide (CO2) just so we can live.  With this knowledge I hope that you can read this blog and see that we need to care better for the earth and also for our plant life.

  1. what could be some long term effects of ozone depletion on plant life?
  2. How could we stop ozone depletion?
  3. can plants protect themselves from ozone gas?

1 thought on “Ozone: Not Just Gas?

  1. I think its interesting that humans don’t pay much attention to this topic when it can become very serious. To answer your question on how we can contribute to help ozone depletion, this website should help, http://www.bcairquality.ca/101/individual-ozone-depletion.html . It says we could help by not purchasing portable fire extinguishers that have halons, and their are other things to help too.

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