Does peepal tree (Fficus religiosa ) release oxygen all
times ( day as well as night ) unlike normally trees?
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Answer Posted / geetikakalha
Most plants largely uptake Carbon dioxide (CO{-2})and
release oxygen during the day (photosynthesis) and uptake
oxygen and release CO{-2} during the night (respiration).
Some plants such as Peepal tree can uptake CO{-2} during
the night as well because of their ability to perform a
type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism
(CAM).
However, it is not true that they release large amounts of
oxygen during the night. CAM is one of the three types of
photosynthesis pathways occurring commonly in plants; the
other two being C3 and C4 pathways.
Of these, C3 is the most common among land plants. CAM
occurs primarily in desert plants and epiphytes (plants
that live on other plants, usually large trees). CAM plants
do not open their stomata during the day in order to
minimise water loss. During the night, they open their
stomata and fix CO{-2} in the form of malate .
During the day, they breakdown the malate and use the
released CO2 through Kalvin cycle to produce sugars,
similar to C3 plants. However, CAM is an energy inefficient
reaction and hence plants use CAM only during certain
conditions.
Peepal tree is a hemi-epiphyte in its native habitat i.e.
the seeds germinate and grow as an epiphyte on other trees
and then when the host-tree dies, they establish on the
soil. It has been suggested that when they live as
epiphyte, they use CAM pathway to produce carbohydrates and
when they live on soil, they switch to C3 type
photosynthesis.
So, Peepal tree would either release or not release CO{-2}
in the night depending on if they are epiphytic or not. For
other CAM plants, it would depend on if they have adequate
water or not, or other environmental factors. Courtesy :
The Hindu
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