Plants are the primary source of food. The whole mankind in some way or the other depends upon plants for their nutritional requirements. But how are plants able to produce their own food? Why are humans not able to do the same? It is because of the process called photosynthesis. The photosynthesis process is unique to plants wherein light energy obtained from sunlight is utilized and converted into chemical energy. Utilizing this energy from light, sugars(carbohydrates) are produced from water and carbon dioxide. As a waste product, oxygen is released which is the most vital gas for biological life to survive on Earth.
The photosynthetic process is governed by the presence of chlorophyll in living entities. The presence of this pigment imparts the color green and assists in the absorption of sunlight which helps it to combine with carbon dioxide to bring about the conversion of these compounds into ATP. ATP or adenosine triphosphate is an organic chemical vital in the association between living entities and energy and is often referred to as the “energy currency for all life”.
Listed below are 5 reasons why photosynthesis is important:
1. One of the most significant uses of the process of photosynthesis is that it provides living entities with the life-sustaining gas i.e. Oxygen as a byproduct. It occurs in the chloroplasts of plants and powers the living systems of the planet.
2. The photosynthesis process is considered to the ultimate source of life for almost all the living entities hence replenishing with the source of energy that is crucial in driving all the metabolic processes as they provide organic food to all living entities.
3. The most important, non-renewable sources and limited fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, etc were formed due to the photosynthetic process which was brought about by the degradation of past plants.
4. Formation of plant products such as rubber, timber, herbs, medicines, and oils is attributed to the process of photosynthesis which is extensively used commercially and finds its applications across industries such as medical field, home furnishings, etc.
5. The process brings about a balance in the ecosystem as it decreases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and other harmful wastes from the industries that are known to cause serious respiratory problems in living entities.
Apart from the regulation of the most important gas in the atmosphere – oxygen, there is another significant gas present in the atmosphere in abundance, the nitrogen gas. It is one of the primary nutrients that are critical for living entities to survive. Although it is largely available, it is inaccessible in this form to the living entities. In order to become available to living entities, it undergoes major transformations as it moves through the atmosphere, the land and the living entities which forms the nitrogen cycle.
Nitrogen, in its gaseous form, cannot be used, hence it is fixed by the process of nitrogen fixation in order to be consumed by living entities, which occurs through three means:
- Industrially
- Biologically
- Through lightening – Lightening converts nitrogen into nitrate and ammonia which enter the soil through rainfall
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