ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

Temperature
Temperature is the measure of the degree of hotness or coldness of the
environment. Temperature is measured in degree Celsius (oC) by an
instrument called the thermometer.

Effect of Temperature on Growth of Plants

Both low and high temperatures affect the germination of seeds. The
ideal temperature range for germination is 15oC - 30oC.
Freezing temperatures (below 0oC) cause death of cells (cold injuries).
High temperatures cause wilting because of increased rate of
transpiration.
Low temperatures cause reduced rate of nutrient uptake.
Low temperatures cause the activities of microbes to seize; this stops
the decomposition of organic matter.

Effect of Temperature on Growth of Animals

Low temperatures cause animals to use energy meant for growth to

maintain a constant body temperature.
High temperatures cause loss of mineral salts through sweating.
High temperatures suppress appetite, resulting in reduced growth rate.
High temperatures confine animals to the shade, greatly reducing
grazing time.

Modifying the Effects of Temperature

In practice, the effects of temperature can be modified by:
applying mulch to the soil
erecting/providing shade
irrigating the soil

Wind
Wind is the movement of a mass of air from an area of high pressure to an
area of low pressure.

The speed of the flow of the wind depends on the difference in pressure - the
greater the difference in pressure, the greater the speed of the wind.
An anemometer measures the speed of the wind. Unit of measurement is
kilometres per hour (km/h).
A wind vane measures the direction of the wind. The wind vane consists of a
flat piece of metal that spins to a point in the direction from which the wind
is blowing.

Effects of Wind on Plants and Animals- Beneficial

Wind promotes the pollination of flowers.

Wind promotes the dispersal of seeds. This allows plants to colonise
new habitats.
Wind is essential for winnowing, e.g. sorghum.
Wind is a source of power to drive windmills.
Wind transports clouds that bring rain.
Wind lowers atmospheric humidity and thus creates conditions that are
not favourable for disease development.

Effects of Wind on Plants and Animals- Harmful

Wind causes a spread of weed seeds in the field.

Wind transports air-borne pests and disease-causing organisms.
Strong winds cause lodging of plants.
Wind speeds up the loss of moisture through evaporation and
transpiration.
Strong winds may remove roofs of buildings housing animals.
Strong winds cause soil erosion.

Humidity
Humidity is the amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
The temperature of the air determines the amount of moisture that the
atmosphere is capable of holding. The higher this temperature, the more
moisture the atmosphere can hold.
Relative humidity is the amount of moisture in the atmosphere expressed as
a percentage of the maximum it could hold at that given temperature.
Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage and measured by a
hygrometer.

Effects of Humidity on Plants and Animals- Beneficial

High humidity reduces loss of water from plants and animals.

High humidity brings amount the formation of clouds from which plants
and animals receive rainfall.
High humidity keeps plant cells turgid.

Effects on Humidity on Plants and Animals- Harmful

High humidity reduces the rate of evaporation. This causes water

logging in soils.
High humidity creates conditions favourable for fungal disease
development.
High humidity stops the transpiration stream. This reduces the rate of
nutrient uptake from the soil into plants.
High humidity reduces evaporation of sweat from animals causing
them discomfort.

Modifying the Effect of Humidity

Irrigate using a sprinkler to raise humidity around crops if the level is
low.
Avoid irrigating the leaves of crops so as not to increase the chance of
fungal disease development.

Rainfall
Rain is the water droplets from clouds that are a product of the process of
condensation of moist air.
The amount of rainfall received in an area is measured using an instrument
called the rain gauge. The unit of rainfall is millimetres (mm).
Rainfall is a form of precipitation and is the source of almost any available
fresh water in the tropics. It is important for all vegetation, crops and
animals.
Some aspects of rainfall are:
Rainfall Intensity: is the measure of the amount of rain per unit time. It
indicates how heavy the rain is falling. Rainfall intensity is measured in
millimetres per hour (mm/h). Rainfall of low intensity is more effective than
one of high intensity.

High intensity rainfall leads to runoff and hence soil erosion.

Rainfall of low intensity has a high infiltration rate, less runoff and is less
likely to cause soil erosion.
Rainfall Duration: measures the time the rainfall lasted. Rains of long
duration tend to be more effective than those of short duration.
Rainfall Distribution: is a measure of the spread of the total amount of rainfall
received in an area across the rainy season.
Rainfall Reliability: is a measure of the chances of receiving a given amount
of rainfall that is adequate for growth of crops. It refers to the certainty with
which the rains may be expected. In Botswana, rain is unreliable.
Rain Effectiveness: is a measure of the degree to which an amount of rain
can sustain plant and animal life without posing any danger.

Effects of Rainfall on Plants and Animals- Beneficial

Rainfall provides essential moisture for plant growth.

Rainfall provides moisture necessary for seed germination.
Rainfall supplies water that is important in most metabolic processes in
both plants and animals.

Effects of Rainfall on Plants and Animals- Harmful

Excess rainfall causes water-logging that inhibits the growth of crops.

Excess rainfall causes soil erosion.
Heavy rainfall leads to the loss of nutrients from the soil through
leaching.
Rainfall of very long duration creates favourable conditions for disease
development.

The Water Cycle

The Water Cycle is also called the Hydrological Cycle. It shows the various
processes that lead to the supply of water from the atmosphere as
precipitation and its loss back to the atmosphere as evaporation,
transpiration or respiration.

The Water Cycle is a solar-driven cycle of evapotranspiration, condensation,

precipitation and runoff. The cycle controls water movement between the
atmosphere, oceans, aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Water escapes from the Earth's surface into the atmosphere through the
process of evaporation. The moist air rises and is transported across the
land by wind until it reaches the condensation level.
Moist air at the condensation level condenses to form water droplets. As the
droplets become heavy, they fall as rain, dew, hail or fog.
The collective name for rain, dew, hail and fog is precipitation.
The water droplets reaching the Earth's surface enter the soil through
infiltration.
Some of the water move along the surface as runoff into streams, rivers,
lakes and dams. Water receives as rainfall may be lost from plant use
through evaporation, transpiration, percolation and runoff.

Evaporation: Water evaporates from oceans, lakes, plant leaves and

land surfaces, and rises into the atmosphere as vapour.
Condensation: Above the condensation line, vapour cools down,
condenses to form clouds and returns to the Earth's surface as
precipitation.
Precipitation: Water in solid or liquid state is returned to Earth as
precipitation. Some of it evaporates before it even reaches the ground.
Some lands on plants. The rest reaches the Earth or inland surface
water.
Seepage/ Percolation: Much of the water that reaches the ground
evaporates quickly and returns to the atmosphere. Most of the rest
seeps/infiltrates into the Earth.
Transpiration: Plants often use seepage water eventually returning it to
the atmosphere through transpiration.
Recharging of ground water supplies: Some of the seepage water
moves beyond the root zone and replenishes supplies of underground
water.

Runoff: Water, which does not enter into the soil or evaporate, runs
across the land in the form of streams or rivers, which run into lakes,
pans or the sea.
Man and animals use part of fresh water, eventually returning it to the
atmosphere through breathing, perspiration and decay.

Frost
Frost occurs when the moisture in the air and on the ground freezes on the
surface of the soil or on grass.
During winter days, the air cools down quickly and therefore, draws heat out
of the soil. The air becomes warm and rises. The heat within the air escapes
upwards. This warm air is replaced on the ground by cool air. If the
temperature on the ground falls below 0oC, the moisture above and on the
ground freezes.
Frost is likely to occur on clear nights with no cloud cover than on cloudy
nights. On cloudy nights, the rising heat from the ground is reflected by the
cloud cover.

Effects of Frost on Plants

Frost can cause the soil to freeze. Any moisture within the soil will
therefore freeze and thus nutrients will not be made available to
plants.
The low temperatures cause moisture within the plant cells to freeze.
Frost creates a humid atmosphere around the crops.

Modifying the Effects of Frost

Fans could be used to create a wind to disperse the cold air.
Small fires could be made to raise the temperature around the plants.
Use of smoke pots to produce a layer of smoke. This layer serves as a
cloud cover to reflect the warm air back to ground.
The soil could be mulched to prevent the heat within the soil from
escaping into the atmosphere.

Photoperiod

Photoperiod refers to the daily cycle of light and darkness. In the equatorial
region, day light is 12 hrs throughout the year, i.e. there are 12 hrs of light
and 12 hrs of darkness.
In the temperate region, the day length varies from 8-16hrs, depending on
the time of year.

Photoperiodism
Photoperiodism refers to the influence of the daily cycle of light and darkness
on the physiology and behaviour of organisms, i.e. it is the reaction of living
things to different day lengths.
Plants can be classified into three groups, based on their day light
requirements. These are 'short-day' plants, 'long-day' plants and 'dayneutral' plants.

'Short-day' plants- require a period of continuous light less than the

period of continuous darkness before flowering can occur, e.g. sweet
potatoes, pineapple, rice.
'Long-day' plants- require periods of continuous light more than the
period of continuous darkness in order for the plants to flower, e.g.
potato, castor oil plant.
'Day-neutral' plants- are independent of the continuous hours of light
and will flower at any time of the year, e.g. maize, tomato, and many
of the common vegetables.

Cool-season crops- cabbage, lettuce, mustard, onion, peas.

Warm-season crops- squash, snap beans, cucumber, pepper, pumpkin, sweet
potato, tomato, sweet corn.

Effects of Photoperiod on Plants and Animals

Longer day length stimulates the process of egg production in poultry.

Longer day length stimulates rapid growth in most livestock.
Geographical distribution of most plants is determined by the
photoperiod. Most crops in the tropics are 'short-day' plants, while
most of the temperate regions are 'long-day' plants.