Document Type

Research Poster

Publication Date

Fall 2012

Abstract

The effect of an inverse light cycle on a Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant was observed in the study. CAM plants are unique in that they open their stomata at night in order to conserve water, an evolution that has come about because these plants primarily exist in very arid climates. By placing a plant in a chamber in which the lights could be programmed to turn on when it was dark out, and to turn off during normal daylight hours, the stomatal conductance of the leaves of a jade plant (Crassula ovata) were recorded several times a day over a five- day period. The results were analyzed in comparison to a control jade plant that was found on the campus of Pepperdine University. The study was mostly inconclusive, due to the fact that the control plant was outside in the rain, while the experimental plant was in dry conditions in the chamber. In addition, the experimental plant did not show a strong correlation to the expected results, which could be because it was only treated for a few days.

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Plant Biology Commons

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