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Oscillations in Plants

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Book cover Communication in Plants

Abstract

Despite the fact that the rhythmical behaviour is a quintessential pattern of life itself, most researchers still treat oscillations in plants as some unwanted “physiological noise”. In this review, an attempt is made to summarise recent progress in this area and highlight the paramount role of oscillatory processes in plant life. First, diversity and hierarchy of oscillations in plants are examined, then a general overview of oscillatory phenomena is given, with the main emphasis on the physiological role of oscillatory processes in plants. The areas covered include leaf and stomata movement, nutations, nutrient acquisition, growth and differentiation, photosynthesis and osmotic adjustment. A possible role for ultradian rhythms in timekeeping is also briefly discussed. The importance of ultradian oscillations is further illustrated by discussing their involvement in the encoding mechanism, mediating plant-environment interaction. Finally, advantages and principles of oscillatory control are considered in the context of plant physiology, with a major emphasis on feedback control and self-sustained oscillations, as well as on deterministic chaos and “strange” behaviour in plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agricultural Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 54, Hobart, Tas, 7001, Australia

    Sergey Shabala

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  1. Sergey Shabala
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    František Baluška  & Dieter Volkmann  & 

  2. Department of Horticulture Electrophysiology Laboratory, University of Florence, Viale delle Idee 30, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

    Stefano Mancuso

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© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Shabala, S. (2006). Oscillations in Plants. In: Baluška, F., Mancuso, S., Volkmann, D. (eds) Communication in Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-28516-8_18

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