INTRODUCTION

Ecophysiology Refers to study of how organisms respond to particular environmental challenges, and
how organisms have adapted to their ecological niches , We can determine how a given species copes
with an extreme environment through studies of specific physiological mechanisms (L.A. Ferry-Graham,
2008)
Physiology is the study of how plants function. Ecophysiology is the study of how a community of plants,
animals, and microorganisms function together. Environmental ecophysiology is the study of how factors
such as light, temperature, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, wind, relative humidity, soil water,
and nutrients affect community function.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ECOPHYSIOLOGY

Historical background of ecophysiology: attempts to understand the potential limits placed on organisms
by their physiology, One of the goals of ecophysiology and agronomy is to understand the physiological
basis of plant growth , In this respect, the process of photosynthesis has received ample attention. Large
efforts have been made to analyze the physical and biochemical processes that are necessary for carbon
fixation.
In this context, it is important to note that while many environments are stressful and have the potential to
disrupt homeostasis, the organisms that live in these environments are able to grow, mature, and
reproduce under these challenging conditions.
The physiological processes observed in trees are common to most plants. As with other species in the
plant kingdom, trees are found across a range of environments and therefore display a very wide range of
adaptation to environment. In this article we examine the basic physiological processes that govern tree
function and indicate how this information can be applied to silviculture (Hendrik Poorter, 1997)
Ecophysiology is a scientific field that emerged in the first part of the 20th century researchers, much
promoted ecophysiology of plants because they developed instruments that could be taken to the field to
measure the actual behavior of plants under natural environmental conditions, especially to follow
photosynthesis and transpiration. Here's a brief historical background:

 Early Roots: While the term "ecophysiology" is relatively recent, the study of how organisms
interact with their environment dates back to the late 19th century. Went made observations on
plant growth and adaptation.
Mid-20th Century: The formalization of ecophysiology as a distinct field began in the 1950s and 1960s.
Pioneers like Eugene P. Odum and Raymond L. Lindeman laid the groundwork by focusing on energy
flows in ecosystems and the physiological adaptations of organisms to various environments

 Climate Change and Environmental Concerns: In recent decades, the field of ecophysiology
has gained increased importance due to growing concerns about climate change and
environmental degradation. Researchers are studying how organisms respond to changing
environmental conditions.
  Interdisciplinary Nature: Ecophysiology is highly interdisciplinary, incorporating principles
from ecology, physiology, genetics, and more. It plays a crucial role in understanding how
species respond to environmental stressors and how ecosystems function.

Today, ecophysiology continues to evolve, contributing to our understanding of how organisms adapt and
survive in diverse ecological settings, which is crucial for conservation, agriculture, and addressing
environmental challenges.

Carbon–Water Coupling

A basic tenet of ecophysiology, is that plants lose water during transpiration when stomata open to take
up CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Thus, there is a close coupling between carbon gain
and water loss, both being regulated by stomatal ‘openness.’ There is no established mechanistic
model for stomatal behavior. But there is a powerful and well-supported theory, based on the idea that
stomata behave in such a way as to optimize the marginal carbon gain per unit water loss , Others use
long-standing empirical formulations, such as the Ball-Berry model which relates stomatal conductance
to photosynthetic rate, ambient CO2 concentration, and relative humidity. (Iain Colin Prentice, 2013)

Roots Of Ecophysiology
Plant ecophysiology aims to provide mechanistic explanations for ecological
questions relating to survival, distribution, abundance, interactions of plants with
other organisms, and the organization of communities and the functioning of
ecosystems. Why does a particular species live where it does? How can it grow there
successfully, and why is it absent from other environments? These questions were
initially asked by geographers who described the global distributions of plants
(Schimper, 1898)
They observed consistent patterns of morphology associated with different
environments, and concluded that these differences in morphology must be important
in explaining plant distributions. Geographers, who know climatic patterns, could
therefore predict the predominant life forms of plants. For example, many desert
plants have small, thick leaves that minimize the heat load and danger of overheating
in hot environments, whereas shade plants often have large, thin leaves that maximize
light interception.
Although ecophysiologists initially emphasized physiological responses to the abiotic
environment, physiological interactions with other plants, animals, and
microorganisms also benefit from an understanding of ecophysiology. (Melnik, 2002)
Plant ecophysiology is the study of physiological responses to the environment
(Magallón S, 2009)
 Physiological ecology and the Distribution of Organisms

Although there are 285,000 species of vascular plants series of filters eliminates most
of these species from any given site, and restricts the actual vegetation to a relatively
small number of species, many species are absent from a given plant community
for historical reasons, Clearly, the physical environment filtered out many species that
may have arrived, but lacked the physiological traits to grow, survive, and reproduce
in the Arctic

Biotic interactions exert an additional filter that eliminates many species that may
have arrived and are capable of surviving the physical environment. Most plant
species that are transported to different continents as ornamental or food crops never
spread beyond the areas where they were planted, because they cannot compete with
native species (a biotic filter). Sometimes, however, a plant species that is introduced
to a new place without the diseases or herbivores that restricted its distribution in its
native habitat becomes an aggressive invader. For example, Opuntia Ficus-indica
Time Scale of plant Response to Environment
We define stress as an environmental factor that reduces the rate of some
physiological process (e.g., growth or photosynthesis) below the maximum rate that
the plant could otherwise sustain. Stress can be generated by abiotic and/or biotic
factors, but is stress only for species that evolved in its absence. Examples of stress
include low nitrogen availability, toxic metals, high salinity,
and shading by neighboring plants. The immediate response of the plant to stress is a
reduction in performance.

If a plant is going to be successful in a stressful environment, there must be some

degree of stress resistance. Mechanisms of stress resistance differ widely among
species. They range from avoidance of the stress, e.g., in deep-rooting species
growing in a low-rainfall area, to stress tolerance, e.g., in Mediterranean species that
can cope with a low leaf water content.
fig :
Typical time course of plant response to environmental stress. The immediate
response to environmental stress is a reduction in physiological activity.
Physiological processes differ in their sensitivity to stress. The most meaningful
physiological processes to consider are growth and reproduction, which integrate the
stress effects on fine-scale physiological processes as they relate to fitness

We recognize at least three distinct time scales of plant response to stress:

The stress response is the immediate detrimental effect of a stress on a plant process.
This generally occurs over a time scale of seconds to days, resulting in a decline in
performance of the process.
 Acclimation is the morphological and physiological adjustment by individual
plants to compensate for the decline in performance following the initial stress
response. Acclimation occurs in response to environmental change through
changes in the activity or synthesis of new biochemical constituents such as
enzymes, often associated with the production of new tissue

 Adaptation is the evolutionary response resulting from genetic changes in

populations that compensate for the decline in performance caused by stress.
The physiological mechanisms of response are often similar to those of
acclimation, because both require changes in the activity or synthesis of
biochemical constituents and cause changes in rates of individual physiological
processes, growth rate, and morphology.
 Actually, the science of the interrelationships between the physiology of organisms and their
environment, So it is important to note that while many environments are stressful and
have the potential to disrupt homeostasis, the organisms that live in these environments
are able to grow, mature, and reproduce under these challenging conditions. Behavior is
the highest or broadest level of potential mechanism, followed by the system, organ,
cellular, and molecular levels. Studies of animal behavior and functional morphology

References
Hendrik Poorter, R. V. (1997, September 28 ). Ecophysiology. Retrieved from
sciencedirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-
sciences/ecophysiology
Iain Colin Prentice, S. A. (2013, February 5 ). Carbon–Water Coupling. Retrieved
from sciencedirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-
planetary-sciences/ecophysiology
L.A. Ferry-Graham, A. G. (2008). Ecophysiology. sciencedirect, 1964–2019.
Magallón S, H. K. ( 2009). Introduction: History, Assumptions, and Approaches.
springer link, 133–137.
Melnik, V. I. (2002). Plant Introduction. link.springer, 161-167.
Schimper, A. F. (1898, January 1). Home Plant Physiological Ecology Chapter.
Retrieved from springer link: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-
3-030-29639-1_1