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Transport in Plants

The document discusses transport in plants. It describes how plants transport water and minerals through xylem tissue and transport food through phloem tissue. The transport systems allow plants to intake carbon dioxide and water, and distribute nutrients and food throughout the plant.

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darielleollivierre
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33 views4 pages

Transport in Plants

The document discusses transport in plants. It describes how plants transport water and minerals through xylem tissue and transport food through phloem tissue. The transport systems allow plants to intake carbon dioxide and water, and distribute nutrients and food throughout the plant.

Uploaded by

darielleollivierre
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TRANSPORT IN PLANTS

Transport is necessary in living things because:

 Living things need to exchange materials with their external environment.


 Materials which are taken in must be distributed.
 Materials produced must be circulated.
Waste must be eliminated.

The processes for this exchange between our cells and their immediate surroundings
are Diffusion and Osmosis.

The ratio of surface area to volume decreases with an increase in the size of the
organism. A transport system ensures rapid distribution of materials between cells and
specialized structures.

Plants need carbon dioxide and water to photosynthesize. They take in carbon dioxide
from the air through tiny holes in the surface of their leaves called stomata. These are
usually on the underside of the leaves. Special guard cells control the opening and
closing of the stomata.

The transport system in plants consists of a network of very fine tubes made of
specialized tissue known as the xylem and the phloem.

The xylem vessels are responsible for transporting water and mineral ions

The phloem vessels/tubes are responsible for transporting food/glucose around the
plant.

This network is known as the vascular system. The vessels are grouped closely
together to make up a vascular bundle.

In the root, vascular tissue is found at the center whereas in a shoot, vascular bundles
are arranged in a ring near the outside edge. They help to support the plant.
The Xylem

The xylem transports water and mineral ions upward from the roots to the leaves of
the plants.

The vessels/tubes are made from dead cells that are


thickened with woody material called lignin. Lignin is
responsible for strengthening the cell walls and makes
the vessels water proof.

Xylem vessels are well suited for transporting water


because they are long, thin, hollow tubes- nonliving, no
end walls (which allows for continuous flow) and
waterproof so that water can move freely upwards
through them.

Transpiration

Transpiration is the loss of water from plants via evaporation.

This takes place mainly on the under-surface of the leaves as water vapor leaves
through the stomata. It helps to keep the plant cool.

As the water is lost from the leaves of the plant more water is pulled upwards through
the xylem vessels. The the water has to be replaced by water taken in through the
roots, otherwise the plant will wilt and die.

The constant upward flow of water through a plant is known as the transpiration
stream aided by the force of the transpiration pull to draw the water upward from the
roots to leaves.

The forces of attraction between water molecules (cohesion) and the adhesive force
between the water and the cell walls also to move water upwards (capillarity).

As water is sucked up through the xylem in the stem, more water is supplied to the
bottom of the xylem vessels by the roots. This water increases the pressure in the root
xylem. The higher root pressure pushes the water up the xylem to the areas of lower
pressure created as water is lost creating a continuous flow.
Factors Affecting Transpiration

The rate at which water evaporates from plants is affected by the conditions in the
environment.

Transpiration is affected by:


Temperature
Humidity
Wind velocity
Light intensity
Water content of the soil

Temperature- on a hot day, water will evaporate quickly from the leaves of a plant.
Transpiration increases as temperature increases.

Humidity - Humidity means the moisture content of the air. The higher the humidity,
the less water will evaporate from the leaves. This is because there is not much of a
diffusion gradient for the water between the air spaces inside the leaf, and the wet air
outside it. Transpiration decreases as humidity increases.

Wind Velocity - On a windy day, water evaporates quicker than on a still day.
Transpiration increases as wind speed increases.

Light intensity - Light does not affect the rate of transpiration directly -, but it does
affect the opening and closing of the stomata. Transpiration is more rapid in bright
sunlight because the stomata are fully open so more water can therefore evaporate
from the leaves.

Water content of the soil - If water is in short supply, then the plant will close its
stomata. This will cut down the rate of transpiration. Transpiration decreases when
water supply decreases below a certain level.

The Phloem

The phloem is responsible for transporting food made in the leaves to other parts of
the plant. It does so mostly in the form of sugars up
and down the stem to all parts of the plant.

Phloem tissue consists of living cells. The most


important of these cells are the sieve cells and
companion cells.

Sieve cells- cylindrical cells joined at their end


walls to form strands of tissue called sieve tubes.

Mature sieve cells are alive. They contain


cytoplasm but they do not have a nucleus. Their end walls are known as sieve plates
because it is pierced with small holes.
Next to each sieve plate, there is a companion cell. They work with the sieve cells to
transport sugars to where they are needed in the plant.

Active Transport

The root hairs absorb mineral ions that are dissolved in the water in the soil. These
minerals are usually present in the soil in quite low concentrations. The concentration
inside the root hairs is higher. In this situation the mineral ions would normally
diffuse out of the root hair into the soil.

Root hairs can take up mineral ions against their concentration gradient. This is done
through active transport which allows cells to build up stores of substances that would
otherwise be spread out by diffusion.

Active transport is the movement of molecules from an area of low concentration to


an area of high concentration against the gradient. This type of movement needs
energy from respiration, which is why it is known as active transport.

Translocation

The movement of sugars and other substances from one region to another through the
sieve cells is called translocation. Food is also transported to storage organs, growing
points, fruits and seeds. The seeds use the stored food for germination and the storage
organs use it for vegetative reproduction.

Sugar passes from the leaf cells to the sieve cells by active transport. Once it enters
the sieve tubes, the sugar and other substances are carried to the parts of the plant
where they are needed.

The translocation of sugar depends on the differences in sugar concentration in


different parts of the plant. Diffusion transports sugar from an area of high
concentration (leaves) to an area of lower concentration (roots) which cannot produce
their own sugar by photosynthesis.

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