Drought as a factor in the Jamestown colony, 1607-1612

Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.

Changes in the environment of the early Earth drove the evolution of organisms. As prokaryotic organisms in the oceans began to photosynthesize, they produced oxygen. Eventually, oxygen saturated the oceans and entered the air, resulting in an increase in atmospheric oxygen concentration, known as the oxygen revolution approximately 2.3 billion years ago. Therefore, organisms that could use oxygen for cellular respiration had an advantage. More than 1.5 years ago, eukaryotic cells and...

Dehydration synthesis (also called a condensation reaction) is the chemical process in which two molecules covalently link together to form a new molecule, along with the release of a water molecule. Many physiologically important compounds form by dehydration synthesis reactions, such as complex carbohydrates, proteins, DNA, and RNA.Synthesis of carbohydratesSugar molecules are covalently linked together by dehydration synthesis. During the reaction, the hydroxyl (-OH) group from one reactant...

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species create more favorable ecological conditions for subsequent species, such as enhanced nutrient, water, or light availability. In contrast, inhibition happens when early successional species create unfavorable ecological conditions for potential successive species, such as limiting resource availability. In some cases, later successional species...

During photosynthesis, plants acquire the necessary carbon dioxide and release the produced oxygen back into the atmosphere. Openings in the epidermis of plant leaves is the site of this exchange of gasses. A single opening is called a stoma—derived from the Greek word for “mouth.” Stomata open and close in response to a variety of environmental cues.

When hardened concrete is exposed to air with a relative humidity of less than 100 percent, it begins to lose the free water within its capillaries. As this water evaporates, the water initially adsorbed onto the calcium silicate hydrates migrates towards these now empty spaces and eventually evaporates as well. Over time, as more water leaves, the volume of the concrete decreases, a phenomenon known as drying shrinkage.
A portion of this drying shrinkage can be reversed; if the concrete is...