Transport In Plants

The Vascular Bundle

Plants contain two types of transport vessels:
 Xylem vessels – transport water and minerals from the roots to the stem and leaves.
 Phloem vessels – transport food materials (made by the plant from photosynthesising)
from leaves to non-photosynthesising regions in the roots and stem.

Water Uptake
Root Hair Cells
 The cells that are present for the absorption of water and ions from the soil are
known as root hair cells.
 These cells have several adaptations to absorb both water and minerals:
► Large surface area for osmosis of water and active transport of ions
► Thin walls, making the distance for movement in the cell small
► High mineral concentration, creating a low water potential for osmosis to take
place
► Lot of mitochondria to provide energy for active transport of ions

Pathway of Water Uptake

 Water travels from the roots to the stems and finally to the leaves. This happens in as
specific order:
1. Root Hair Cells
2. Root Cortex Cells
3. Xylem Cells
4. Mesophyll Cells

Transpiration
 Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from plant leaves by evaporation of water
at the surfaces of the mesophyll cells followed by diffusion of water vapour through
the stomata.
 Water is transported from the roots to the leave through the xylem vessels

Water Vapour Loss

 Evaporation takes place from the surfaces of spongy mesophyll cells
 There are many interconnecting air spaces between these cells and the stomata
creating a large surface area
 This means that water vapour loss can happen rapidly when stomata are open
Transpiration Stream
1. Leave cells have a layer of moisture which evaporates into a vapour and the excess
will exit into the air from the stomata by diffusion
2. The water potential gradient is lowered in the mesophyll cells
3. The neighbouring xylem cells now have a higher water potential; therefore, water
leaves them and enters the mesophyll cells by osmosis
4. The water potential in the xylem is lower, therefore, water is pulled up from the roots
by the xylem
5. The water molecules are held to each other by cohesive forces, so water is pulled
through the plant
6. The water potential in the roots is lowered, so water from the soil enters by osmosis

This is a continuous suction force caused due to transpiration, known as the transpiration
pull/stream.

Wilting
 If more water evaporates from the leaves of a plant than is available in the soil to
move into the root by osmosis, then wilting will occur
 This is when all the cells of the plant are not full of water, so the strength of the cell
walls cannot support the plant and it starts to collapse
 This may kill a plant as the cells start to get plasmolysed

Factors Affecting Transpiration

 Temperature: if temperature increases the water molecules will have more kinetic
energy, causing them to move faster which means they will evaporate more easily
Therefore, the higher the temperature, the transpiration rate increases
 Humidity: in a humid environment, the air is almost saturated with water vapour,
hence there is hardly any concentration gradient between the air spaces inside and
outside the leaf, so the rate of evaporation is slow
Therefore, the more humid an environment, the transpiration rate decreases

Investigating Transpiration Rate

The more the bubble travels, the faster the transpiration.

Translocation
 Translocation is the movement of sucrose and amino acids in phloem from regions
of production (source) to regions of storage or where they are used in respiration or
growth (sink)
Translocation is always from a Source to Sink
 During summer and autumn, plants continuously produce glucose, converts it into
sucrose and sends it to the roots to store. The source is the leaves and the sink is
the roots
 During spring, the stored food in the roots (the source in this case) is sent back to the
rest of the plant, when leaves fall off and there is no photosynthesis taking place. The
sink here is the rest of the plant

Important Minerals
Magnesium
 Absorbed as Mg2+ ions
 Function: forms part of chlorophyll
 Deficiency: severe symptoms; leaves turn yellow from the bottom first

Nitrogen
 Absorbed as NH4+ or NO3- ions
 Function: needed for making proteins such as enzymes
 Deficiency: severe symptoms; plant stunted with weak stem; yellowing and dying
leaves