Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In the study of
Paleolightning
,
it is speculated that lightning played a part in the genesis of
early life. Further studies on the subject have found that lightning storms improve nitrogen
according to the research of L.E. Murr who wrote about the stimulation effect of plants in
What's interesting is that there have been many reports over the ages stating that plants
generally look healthier after a thunderstorm. As an example, one time in late 2013 on
GardenWeb, a man named Derek said, “When it rains, all of my plants grow a lot more
thanwithjustplainoldwateringinthemorning.It'srainedforabout3daysonandoffhere
with some sunshine and my pumpkin vines have easily grown 6 inches but it will take a
week for them to grow that much with no rain and just water?”
7
Most experts state that the primary reason for this effect is that lightning turns atmospheric
nitrogen into a form (nitrous oxide) more easily assimilated by plants. So when
nitrogen-enriched rain falls from the skies, it gives them a boost.
conditions of an electrical storm, the abundance of free-floating ions in the air creates a
charge imbalance on plant cell walls. As you will see, this imbalance will lead to a wide
array of physiological changes.
Other forms of atmospheric electricity that have also been found to be beneficial to plant
life include the high-latitude display of the Aurora Borealis and the bombardment of the
Earth by cosmic radiation.