Plant evolution has therefore had to tread a path between maximizing light interception for photosynthesis and minimizing the potential for
damage arising from the over-excitation of the photosynthetic apparatus. In
nature, light differs from all other major climate variables in the size and speed
of its variation. Within a single day plants must cope with several orders of
magnitude change in the quantity of light, fluctuating on a range of time scales
(109). Superimposed on the daily and annual cycle (46) are stochastic fluctua-
tions with frequencies ranging from seconds [e.g. the focusing and defocusing
of light by waves (51)], to years [e.g. the life span of an overshadowing tree
(90)]. Plants may respond to low frequency variation in light quantity and
quality via development to adapt their photosynthetic capacity and ability to
dissipate intercepted light energy