[schwauve]

Hello,
I'm new here and have a annoying little question,
now i have heard that in the daytime plants give of oxygen and absorb c02 at night plants absorb oxygen and give off co2, now I talked to a botanist the other day she did not know that at night they gave off co2.
so now I am confused
do just aquatic plants do this or do both land and aquatic? or am I a complete
moron?
(sorry if this is off topic...)

 

[Laith]

Botanist? :shock: Where did she learn?

Plants respire all the time, day and night. By respiration I mean the act of taking in O2 and releasing CO2. All living cells need O2 to survive.

In addition, plants have the capability of using light and CO2 to create sugars which are an energy source for the plant. This process releases O2 and happens when light is available and is called photosynthesis.

So during the day the plants are taking in O2 and releasing CO2 (respiring), as well as taking in CO2 and releasing O2 (photosynthesizing). With light available plants release more O2 than they use.

At night, there is no photosynthesis, only respiration.