. . Autotrophic Nutrition Carbon and energy requirements of the autotrophic organism are fulfilled by photosynthesis. It is the process by which autotrophs take in substances from the outside and convert them into stored forms of energy.
This material is taken in the form of carbon dioxide and water which is converted into carbohydrates in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. Carbohydrates are utilised for providing energy to the plant. We will study how this takes place in the next section. The carbohydrates which are not used immediately are stored in the form of starch, which serves as the internal energy reserve to be used as and when required by the plant.
A somewhat similar situation is seen in us where some of the energy derived from the food we eat is stored in our body in the form of glycogen. Let us now see what actually happens during the process of photosynthesis. The following events occur during this process – Figure . Figure .
Figure . Figure . Figure . Variegated leaf (a) before and (b) after starch test Figure .
Figure . Figure . Figure . Figure .
Cross-section of a leaf