Comparing Durations of Plant and Human Physiological Processes and Highlighting Their Importance to the Earth System

Abstract

Highly dynamic physiology limits our ability to understand and compare durations of plant physiological and human physiological processes in concert. In this study, I used literature data and examined a reproductive process, fruiting, for deciduous rubber trees from two tropical rubber plantations grown in different geographical locations. In particular, I focused on fruiting timings and found that fruiting in rubber trees occurs within eight to nine months from the time when the rubber tree is dormant. The duration of this interesting physiological process is analogous to a situation, where women take about nine months to deliver a baby following fertilization. Based on the data, I generalize (“extrapolate”) that every deciduous tree fruiting takes about eight to nine months since it is dormant. I recommend that the fruiting process be represented in earth system models for deciduous trees. I also suggest follow-up work that can be done in this field of research.