JoAnne Skelly: Plant response to heat

Plants are more sensitive to changes in temperature than humans. Not only are they stuck where they are planted, temperature plays a critical role in plant processes. Photosynthesis, the process by which green plants capture the energy of the sun and convert it to sugar energy (plant food) using carbon dioxide, nutrients from the soil and water, increases with heat. Respiration is the process by which plants burn those sugars to yield energy for growth, reproduction and other life processes. It