“The Impact of Environmental Factors on Plant Growth”

Renata Elizondo Cantú

920162650

Alejandro Saavedra Martinez

110250497

Ximena Olmos Álvarez

110259549

BIOLOGY I

Instructor: Miguel Alberto López Sánchez

September 12, 2024

ABSTRACT
The impact of environmental factors on plant growth is a topic that has been receiving great
advances from the scientific and agricultural community. However, temperature is also a crucial
environmental factor influencing plant growth and development. Plants are ectothermic
organisms, meaning that their physiological processes are directly affected by external
temperatures. Understanding how temperature affects plant growth is essential for optimizing
agricultural practices and improving crop yields.

In order to understand deeply the impact and importance of temperature when dealing with
plants, an experiment was conducted to examine how different temperatures affect the growth
of a specific food-cultivated plant. By exposing the plant to various temperature conditions, the
experiment seeks to identify the optimal temperature range that promotes the best growth and
development. It also aims to understand how temperatures outside this range (both too high and
too low) impact plant health, growth, and productivity. By identifying the ideal temperature
ranges for plant development and assessing the impact of temperature extremes, we can
enhance growing conditions in various environments, from greenhouses to outdoor fields. This
knowledge will help optimize growing conditions in various climates or controlled environments,
leading to enhanced crop yields and better farming practices.

INTRODUCTION
Temperature is a critical environmental factor influencing plant growth and development. Plants,
as ectothermic organisms, depend on external temperatures to regulate their physiological
processes. Enzymatic activity, essential for biochemical reactions, is particularly sensitive to
temperature. Enzymes have optimal temperature ranges where they function best; outside this
range, their activity can decrease or even halt, impacting the plant's metabolism and growth.

To reach an in-depth knowledge, it is crucial to fully understand certain concepts of the

agricultural language. The process through which plants convert light energy into chemical
energy, is called Photosynthesis, which is also affected by temperature. Within an optimal range,
photosynthesis supports healthy growth by efficiently producing sugars and oxygen. However,
temperatures outside this range can hinder this process, reducing nutrient production and
affecting overall plant health. On the other hand, respiration involves breaking down sugars to
release energy, meaning that it is temperature dependent. Elevated temperatures can accelerate
respiration, potentially depleting energy reserves and stressing the plant, while low temperatures
can slow respiration, affecting energy availability for growth.

However, temperature also impacts water relations in plants since elevated temperatures can
increase transpiration rates, leading to higher water loss and possible dehydration, while low
temperatures can reduce water uptake by impairing root function. Both scenarios can stress the
plant and inhibit growth.

The purpose of this lab was to investigate how maintaining temperature within an optimal range
affects the growth rate of a food-cultivated plant. Our hypothesis is based on the idea that
temperature significantly impacts plant growth by affecting key physiological processes. Enzymes,
which are crucial for growth, tend to work best within a specific temperature range. At optimal
temperatures, these enzymes function efficiently, enabling the plant to effectively perform
essential processes that were mentioned before, like photosynthesis and respiration. This results
in better nutrient uptake and energy production, leading to faster and healthier growth. On the
opposite, temperatures that are too high or too low can hinder enzyme activity, reduce metabolic
efficiency, and stress the plant, slowing its growth. To sum up, maintaining the right temperature
helps ensure that the plant can grow at its best by supporting its overall metabolic functions.

Our hypothesis is that if the temperature around a food-cultivated plant is maintained within an
optimal range, then the plant's growth rate will be higher, since temperature influences enzymatic
activity and metabolic processes. This idea is based on the understanding that temperature has a
significant impact on the plant's physiological processes. As mentioned before, enzymes are a
protein that speeds up chemical reactions in living organisms which is why they are crucial for
many of these processes, including photosynthesis and respiration. These enzymes operate most
efficiently at certain temperatures, allowing the plant to perform these essential functions
effectively. Therefore, by keeping the temperature within the optimal range, we anticipate that
the plant will demonstrate improved growth rates and overall health. This is because the ideal
temperature ensures that all the biochemical processes necessary for growth (including nutrient
uptake) are functioning at their maximum efficiency in order to optimize crop cultivation. As a
result, the plant will be able to produce energy and grow more quickly compared to when it is
exposed to temperatures outside this optimal range.

By establishing and maintaining various temperature conditions, we aim to explore how different
temperatures impact the growth of a specific food-cultivated plant. We will include an optimal
range where we expect the plant to grow most effectively. The plants will grow under these
controlled temperature conditions, and we will regularly monitor their growth by measuring
parameters such as height, leaf size, and overall health. Then, we will compare the growth rates
and health of plants at different temperatures and identify which conditions promote the most
rapid and robust growth. We will also observe any signs of stress or poor health that might
increase when temperatures deviate from the optimal range. Data collected from these
observations will be analyzed to identify the significance of temperature on plant growth and to
determine whether our hypothesis is supported or not. To sum up, this investigation will enhance
our understanding of how temperature influences plant growth and help in optimizing
agricultural practices for better crop production.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

In order to carry out the experiment, certain materials were required. Those materials are the
followings:

• Soil of quality, the soil must be high quality, so this would not affect the experiment.
• Thermometers will be used to measure the temperatures and verify that the experiment
is going well.
• Ruler or something to measure, this will be used to measure how much the plant grows.
• Containers or pots, the experiment will be carried out in these.
 • Seeds of the same species, the same amount is to be used in each serving.
• Sheets to record the data.

Equipment:

Experiments were performed in uniform pots filled with superior quality soil using seeds of the
same species to retain consistency across experimental groups. Temperature control was
maintained by referring to thermometers or temperature sensors, cooling equipment at low
temperatures and heating lamps in higher temperatures. We used this grow light indoors inside
to keep everything on the same cycle of day and night, we watered with a normal watering can.
Plant growth was measured with a ruler or measuring tape and recorded on data recording
sheets.

Procedure:

The experiment aimed to evaluate how temperature affects plant growth by comparing three
groups: The control group was kept at an optimal temperature of 22°C - 24°C, the low-
temperature group at 10°C and the high-temperature group at 35°C. Identical pots were filled
with the same soil, and seeds were planted uniformly. All pots received similar light and were
labeled by temperature group.

Plants were watered equally, and light exposure was consistent across all groups. Plant height was
measured weekly for six weeks, along with observations of leaf size, number of leaves, and overall
health.

Preparation:

Step 1: Pots of plants were all filled with the same soil — each is in a similar looking pot. Then,
seeds were planted independently in every individual pot.
Step 2: Pots were established in the same light environment and pot temperature was recorded
with each group similarly labeled.

Step 3: Maintain the control group in the ideal temperature range of 22°C to 24°C. For the low-
temperature group, a fresher environment was created by setting the temperature to 10°C with
cooling equipment. While doing that the high-temperature group was kept warm at 35°C using
heating lamps.

Step 4: All the plants were watered equally, making sure they received the same amount of
water; along with that, light exposure was kept consistent across all groups.

Data Collection:
Every week, we measured the height of each plant using a ruler or measuring tape over a six-
week period. We also made notes on other growth aspects, like leaf size, number of leaves, and
overall plant health.

Data Analysis:
We compared the growth rates by analyzing the height measurements for each temperature
group. Differences in growth patterns and plant health were examined to see how temperature
affected the plants.

RESULTS

The experiment showed that temperature significantly influenced plant growth. Plants in the
optimal temperature group (22°C - 24°C) had the highest growth rate and overall health.

Table 1
It presents the average height measurements of the plants over six weeks. Plants in the optimal
group consistently grew taller than those in the low (10°C) and high (35°C) temperature groups.

HYPOTHETICAL GROWTH TABLE

WEEK Control Group (22°C - Low Temperature High Temperature

24°C) (10°C) (35°C)
1 5 cm 3 CM 4 CM

2 10 cm 5 CM 7 CM

3 15 cm 7 CM 9 CM

4 20 cm 9 CM 10 CM

5 25 cm 10 CM 11 CM

6 30 cm 12 CM 12 CM

Our results gave us a small preview of what we will later be able to confirm in the hypothesis. The
table above shows the effects of temperature on the growth of these organisms, clarifying how
an ambient temperature helps exponentially to better crop health.

DISCUSSION
The results indicate that plants exposed to temperatures between 22ºC and 25ºC demonstrated
the most optimal growth. This temperature range supports the efficient functioning of enzymatic
and metabolic processes essential for plant development. At these temperatures, enzymatic
activity is maximized, leading to enhanced photosynthesis and nutrient uptake, which promotes
strong and healthy growth. Nevertheless, plants exposed to 10ºC experienced impaired growth
due to the slowing of metabolic processes. The low temperature reduced enzymatic activity,
hindering essential biochemical reactions, and leading to decreased nutrient absorption and
growth. On the other hand, plants subjected to 35ºC exhibited rapid initial growth, but this was
unsustainable. The elevated temperature accelerated metabolic processes, which eventually led
to energy depletion and physiological stress, resulting in poor overall growth and plant
deterioration. The fundamental purpose of this lab was to understand how temperature
influences key physiological processes such as enzymatic activity and metabolic functions. Also,
the goal was to identify the ideal temperature range for maximizing plant health and growth,
which can inform better agricultural practices and improve crop yields.

While examining the growth of each of the crops along with the harmful and benevolent
characteristics displayed, the thought arose that those plants located in a place with a higher
temperature would not grow at all, or at least not in a normal way, but would wither before they
began to grow properly. On the other hand, it was thought that those plants that grew in a low
temperature environment might grow faster and healthier, however, upon further investigation
of the function of enzymes and the metabolic process of the plants together with the sample of
the first weeks of the experiment, this hypothesis was discarded.

CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of the experiment was to determine how the temperature of the environment of
the organisms, in this case of living organisms such as plants and crops, is extremely essential and
very influential in the rate and health of plant development. The evidence is exposed and
analyzed in the results of the experiment. There was a significant difference between the plants
that were at a normal temperature, and those that were in very extreme temperatures, which
lead us to the conclusion of the hypothesis establish at the beginning of this research; We confirm
that if the temperature around a food-cultivated plant is maintained within an optimal range,
then the plant's growth rate will be higher and will grow healthy.
 The plants that were exposed to a temperature between 22ºC and 25ºC had the best growth
results, which proves that this temperature level is the best for the growth of plants and for their
life process. On the other hand, the plants that were exposed to temperatures of 10 degrees
Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius had problems in their growth since the plants exposed to low
temperature had a deterioration of the metabolic processes, while the plants exposed to 35
degrees grew faster but due to the acceleration and exhaustion in the end did not have good
results.

The results highlight why is particularly important to keep a stable and optimal temperature
conditions in order to optimize crop cultivation to ensure global food security and have the best
growth and productivity of the plants and crops that will be cultivated.

To sum up, the best option for people working in the agricultural field is to improve farming
efficiency by keeping the temperature required by the product they are planting.

Different plant species might have different temperature requirements so it is not as concise and
a longer experiment with more requirements would be needed to obtain more general results.

REFERENCES
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temperature-and-
humidity/#:~:text=Most%20plants%20tolerate%20normal%20temperature,at%20night.

Nievola, C. C., Carvalho, C. P., Carvalho, V., & Rodrigues, E. (2017). Rapid responses of plants to temperature
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United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS). (n.d.). Retrieved
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VanDerZanden, A. M. (2024, August 9). Environmental factors affecting plant growth. OSU Extension
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