Chapter 11: Transport in Plants

This chapter deals with plant transport system and how materials moved through plants. Plants use
osmosis very effectively. Osmosis is the net diffusion of water from a high water potential to a low
water potential through a partially permeable cell membrane.

If a cell has higher water potential than the next cell, water moves from the first to the second cell
easily. Thus diluting the second cell, it then moves to the third and so on. The term means how free
the water can move. The molecules of pure water can move most freely.

In plants, water can pass through cells very

easily but certain things like the sugar
molecules are restricted by cell membranes as
they are very big in size. This can also be
shown using Visking tubing.

If a plant cell is put in dilute water, the cell absorbs water by osmosis. It then swells up and push the
cytoplasm against the cell wall. A plant cell having such kind of pressure is called turgid. Turgor
pressure from this turgid plant supports the stems so that it can be upright and the leaves can carry
out their functions easily. To prevent water loss, the plant becomes wilt by reducing the exposed
surface area of the leaves and closing the stomata.

If a plant cell is put in concentrated sucrose solution, it will lose water by osmosis. Its volume
decreases and the cell become flaccid. The cell contents shrink so much that the cytoplasm is split
away from the cell. In this situation the cell is called plasmolysed.

Root hairs - Root hairs are single, specialized cells of the root epidermis. Their thin and long outer
projections penetrate the soil particles and reach the soil water. The soil water passes through the root
cortex into the xylem which is then carried to the stems. The root hairs greatly increase the surface
area of the root epidermis and can reach to greater depths in the soil.

Transpiration - It is the process through which water is lost from the leaves. Most of the water
passes out of the leaves as vapour through the stomata. Transpiration causes xylem to pull up the
water from the roots and fill up the loss. This is done in a continuous flow and so it is called the
transpiration stream.

The transpiration stream has many functions. These are -

 Supplies water for the leaf cells to carry out photosynthesis.

 Carries mineral ions dissolved in water.
 Provides water to keep the plants turgid.
 Allows evaporation from the leaf surface, thus cooling the leaf.
Xylem - Xylem vessels or tissues consist of dead cells and a lumen in the middle through which the
water passes. Their walls contain a woody and impermeable material called lignin. This lignin makes
them very strong and allows them to carry water even through tall plants without collapsing.

Phloem - This is another plant tissue that consists of living cells. Its cell walls are made of cellulose
with holes called a sieve plate. The cytoplasm connects each cell with the next, thus forming a long
sieve tube. The sieve tubes transport the products of photosynthesis from the leaves to other parts of
the plant. The phloem sieve tubes don’t have any nucleus and
are controlled by companion cells.

Structure of a stem -The xylem and phloem tissues are

grouped together in vascular bundles of young stems. The
vascular bundles are arranged in circles around the outer part of
the stems. In older stems, the vascular tissues grow to form
complete rings around the stem. The xylem forms the inner core
and the phloem is found outside.

Control of transpiration:

Water loss by the leaves is controlled by the

stomata. Most of the stomata are located on
the lower parts of the leaf to prevent direct
contact with sunlight. Besides, there is less
air movement on the underneath so water can
hardly passes out. Furthermore, closing and
opening of the stomata are controlled by
guard cells.

In daylight, the stoma opens; water enters through the guard cells by
osmosis making them turgid. But in dark, the guard cells become flaccid
and lose water; thus closing the stoma. In deserts, plants either lose their
leaves or they have a very thick waxy cuticle to prevent water loss.

Measuring the rate of transpiration: The rate of transpiration can be

measured with a device called potometer. There are two types of
potometers - weight potometer and volume potometer.

A weight potometer measures the rate of loss of mass from a potted

plant in several hours. Here, the layer of oil on water confirms that water
cannot evaporate other than from transpiration. After an initial reading
of mass has been taken it is then compared with the final reading to find the amount of water loss.
A volume potometer is used to find the
rate of uptake of water by a leafy shoot.
Here, a shoot is taken from a plant and
its stem is pushed into the rubber bung
tubing to stop air from entering. The
movement of the water column in the
capillary tube can be timed. If the water
moves quickly, it means the rate of
transpiration has increased. The plant
can be exposed to different conditions to
check how it affects the rates.

Factors affecting the rate of transpiration:

a. Light intensity - The increase in light intensity increases the rate of transpiration as the stomata
remains open for longer period.

b. Temperature - High temperature increases the rate of transpiration as the rate of evaporation
increases.

c. Wind speed - The rate of transpiration increases with faster air speed as the air movements
remove any air that is around the stomata.

d. Humidity - The rate of transpiration decreases in humid air and increases in dry air as the air
remains humid, less gas exchange occurs.

Uptake of mineral ions - Mineral ions are taken by plants from the soil by osmosis when the
concentration in the soil is more than the cells. But most of the time, the soil concentration remains
lower, so active transport is used instead of osmosis.