THE CONVERSION OF SOLAR ENERGY to the chemical energy of organic compounds is a complex process that includes electron transport and photosynthetic carbon metabolism (see Chapters 7 and 8). Earlier discussions of the photochemical and biochemical reactions of photosynthesis should not overshadow the fact that, under natural conditions, the photosynthetic process takes place in intact organisms that are continuously responding to internal and external changes. This chapter addresses some of the photosynthetic responses of the intact leaf to its environment
