RESPIRATION IN PLANTS

Photosynthesis captures solar energy and stores it in glucose. Yet capturing energy is only half the story. Organisms must release this stored energy and use it to power life processes. A plant does not simply store glucose indefinitely; it uses glucose as fuel to grow, transport nutrients, maintain ion gradients, repair tissues, and reproduce.

Respiration is the process of releasing energy stored in organic molecules. Unlike photosynthesis which is largely a plant process, respiration occurs in all living organisms—plants, animals, fungi, bacteria. Understanding respiration reveals how organisms convert chemical energy into usable forms, how carbon cycles through organisms and ecosystems, and how plants and all life derive the energy necessary for survival.