Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Light Acquisition

Light Acquisition

In order to produce glucose, plants need to capture sufficient light energy. Many modern plants have evolved leaves specialized for light acquisition. Leaves can be only millimeters in width or tens of meters wide, depending on the environment. Due to competition for sunlight, evolution has driven the evolution of increasingly larger leaves and taller plants, to avoid shading by their neighbors with contaminant elaboration of root architecture and mechanisms to transport water and nutrients.

Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light

Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light

Light plays a significant role in regulating the growth and development of plants. In addition to providing energy for photosynthesis, light provides other important cues to regulate a range of developmental and physiological responses in plants.

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.

Primary and Secondary Growth in Roots and Shoots

Primary and Secondary Growth in Roots and Shoots

Vascular plants, which account for over 90% of the Earth’s vegetation, all undergo primary growth—which lengthens roots and shoots. Many land plants, notably woody plants, also undergo secondary growth—which thickens roots and shoots.

Meristems and Plant Growth

Meristems and Plant Growth

Plants grow throughout their lives; this is called indeterminate growth, and it distinguishes plants from most animals. Although certain parts of plants stop growing (e.g., leaves and flowers), others grow continuously—like roots and stems.

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Ecological multifunctionality of watersheds increases with tree species richness.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Timing and origins of Mexican and Central American oak diversity.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Leveraging remote sensing and crowd-sourced biodiversity data for enhanced plant functional trait mapping.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Evolutionary and environmental drivers of dry-season deciduousness in a legume genus.

The New phytologist·2026

Same author

DNA-based identification of plants and the genomic nature of plant species differences.

Communications biology·2026

Same author

Phylogenetic signal in flowering phenology weakens over elevation in the high Andes of Chile: evidence for evolutionary convergence in a harsh habitat.

Frontiers in plant science·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 15, 2025

Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Growth Behavior in Different Light Qualities

Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Growth Behavior in Different Light Qualities

Published on: February 2, 2018

Enhanced light interception and light use efficiency explain overyielding in young tree communities.

Laura J Williams^1,2, Ethan E Butler¹, Jeannine Cavender-Bares²

¹Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA.

Ecology Letters

|March 3, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Diverse forests are more productive due to better light capture and use. Mixed-species tree communities show higher productivity (overyielding) when they intercept more light and enhance light use efficiency (LUE).

Keywords:

IDENT biodiversity-ecosystem function complementarity diversity-productivity ecophysiology forest productivity functional diversity niche partitioning photosynthetic light-response

More Related Videos

High-Throughput Analysis of Non-Photochemical Quenching in Crops Using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Chlorophyll Fluorometry

High-Throughput Analysis of Non-Photochemical Quenching in Crops Using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Chlorophyll Fluorometry

Published on: July 6, 2022

Evaluation of Photosynthetic Behaviors by Simultaneous Measurements of Leaf Reflectance and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Analyses

Evaluation of Photosynthetic Behaviors by Simultaneous Measurements of Leaf Reflectance and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Analyses

Published on: August 9, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 15, 2025

Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Growth Behavior in Different Light Qualities

Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Growth Behavior in Different Light Qualities

Published on: February 2, 2018

High-Throughput Analysis of Non-Photochemical Quenching in Crops Using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Chlorophyll Fluorometry

High-Throughput Analysis of Non-Photochemical Quenching in Crops Using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Chlorophyll Fluorometry

Published on: July 6, 2022

Evaluation of Photosynthetic Behaviors by Simultaneous Measurements of Leaf Reflectance and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Analyses

Evaluation of Photosynthetic Behaviors by Simultaneous Measurements of Leaf Reflectance and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Analyses

Published on: August 9, 2019

Area of Science:

Ecology
Forestry
Plant Biology

Background:

Diverse plant communities often exhibit higher productivity than monocultures, a phenomenon known as overyielding.
The underlying mechanisms, including light interception and light use efficiency (LUE), and their relative importance in driving overyielding, are not fully understood.
This study investigates the roles of light interception and LUE in explaining overyielding in experimental tree communities.

Discussion:

Mixed-species communities intercepted more light than monocultures, strongly correlating with overyielding (84% probability).
Enhanced light use efficiency (LUE) in mixtures also significantly contributed to overyielding.
Specific pathways included higher inherent LUE species capturing more light (71% probability), dominant species increasing LUE (94% probability), and subordinate species increasing LUE (79% probability).

Key Insights:

Greater light interception by mixed-species communities is a primary driver of increased productivity.
Enhanced light use efficiency (LUE), influenced by inter- and intraspecific variation, further boosts forest productivity in mixtures.
Both light capture and LUE, arising from species diversity, are crucial for overyielding in forest ecosystems.

Outlook:

Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these mechanisms on forest dynamics.
Understanding these interactions can inform sustainable forest management and restoration strategies.
Investigating the genetic and physiological bases of enhanced LUE in diverse stands is warranted.