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Transpiration
 
 
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Transpiration is the evaporation
Evaporation

Evaporation is the slow vaporization of a liquid and the reverse of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid State of matter spontaneously become gaseous ....
 of water from the aerial parts of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s, especially leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 but also stem
Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaf, inflorescence , conifer cones or other stems etc....
s, flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s and root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s. Leaf surfaces are dotted with openings called stoma that are bordered by guard cells. Collectively, the structures are called stomata. Leaf transpiration occurs through stomata, and can be as a necessary "cost" associated with many processes such as the opening of the pistil and allowing the diffusion of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
 gas from the air for photosynthesis
Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
.






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Encyclopedia


Transpiration is the evaporation
Evaporation

Evaporation is the slow vaporization of a liquid and the reverse of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid State of matter spontaneously become gaseous ....
 of water from the aerial parts of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s, especially leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 but also stem
Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaf, inflorescence , conifer cones or other stems etc....
s, flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s and root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s. Leaf surfaces are dotted with openings called stoma that are bordered by guard cells. Collectively, the structures are called stomata. Leaf transpiration occurs through stomata, and can be as a necessary "cost" associated with many processes such as the opening of the pistil and allowing the diffusion of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
 gas from the air for photosynthesis
Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
. Transpiration also cools plants and enables mass flow
Mass flow

Mass flow, also known as Mass transfer and bulk flow, is the movement of substances at equal rates or as a single body. For example, blood circulation, transport of water and assimilates in xylem vessels and phloem tubes of plants....
 of mineral nutrients
Plant nutrition

Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical element that are necessary for plant growth. There are several principles that apply to plant nutrition. Some the element is directly involved in plant metabolism ....
 and water from root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s to shoot
Shoot

Shoots are new plant growth, they can include plant stem, flowering stems with flower buds, leaves. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop....
s.

Mass flow is caused by the decrease in hydrostatic (water) pressure in the upper parts of the plants due to the diffusion
Diffusion

Molecular diffusion, often called simply diffusion, is a net transport of molecules from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration by random molecular motion....
 of water out of stomata into the atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
. Water is absorbed at the roots by osmosis
Osmosis

Osmosis is the diffusion of a solvent through a Semipermeable membrane, from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration , up a solute concentration gradient....
, and any dissolved mineral nutrients travel with it through the xylem
Xylem

In vascular plants, xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue, phloem being the other. The word "xylem" is derived from classical Greek language ????? , "wood", and indeed the best known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout the plant....
.

The rate of transpiration is directly related to the degree of stomatal opening, and to the evaporative demand of the atmosphere surrounding the leaf. The amount of water lost by a plant depends on its size, along with the surrounding light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
 intensity, temperature
Temperature

In physics, temperature is a physical property of a Physical system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the greater temperature....
, humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
, and wind
WIND

The Global Geospace Science WIND satellite is a NASA science spacecraft launched at 04:31:00 EST on November 1, 1994 from launch pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Merritt_Island%2C_Florida, Florida aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II 7925-10 rocket....
 speed (all of which influence evaporative demand). Soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
 water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 supply and soil temperature can influence stomatal opening, and thus transpiration rate.

A fully grown tree may lose several hundred gallon
Gallon

A gallon is a measure of volume of approximately four litres. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use....
s (a few cubic meters) of water through its leaves on a hot, dry day. About 90% of the water that enters a plant's roots is used for this process. The transpiration ratio is the ratio of the mass of water transpired to the mass of dry matter produced; the transpiration ratio of crops
Crop (agriculture)

A crop is the annual or season's yield of any plant that is grown in significant quantities to be harvested as food, as livestock fodder, or for any other economic purpose....
 tends to fall between 200 and 1000 (i.e., crop plants transpire 200 to 1000 kg of water for every kg of dry matter produced).

Transpiration rate of plants can be measured by a number of techniques, including potometer
Potometer

A potometer is a device used for measuring the rate of water uptake of a leafy shoot. The reasons for water uptake are for photosynthesis and transpiration....
s, lysimeter
Lysimeter

A lysimeter is a measuring device which can be used to measure the amount of actual evapotranspiration which is released by plants, usually crops or trees....
s, porometers, and heat balance sap flow gauges.

Desert
Désert

?D?sert? is ?milie Simon's debut single, released in October 2002. The song was a huge success both critically and commercially in her homeland....
 plants and conifers have specially adapted structures, such as thick cuticles, reduced leaf areas, sunken stomata and hairs to reduce transpiration and conserve water. Many cacti
Cactus

A cactus is any member of the spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also Crop plants....
 conduct photosynthesis in succulent stems, rather than leaves, so the surface area of the shoot is very low. Many desert plants have a special type of photosynthesis
Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
, termed Crassulacean acid metabolism
Crassulacean acid metabolism

Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is an elaborate carbon fixation pathway in some plants. These plants fix carbon dioxide during the night, storing it as the four carbon acid malate....
 or CAM photosynthesis in which the stomata are closed during the day and open at night when transpiration will be lower.

See also

  • Active Transport
    Active transport

    Active transport is the mediated process of moving particles across a biological membrane against a Concentration_gradient#In_biology . If the process uses chemical energy, such as from adenosine triphosphate , it is termed primary active transport....
  • Evaporation
    Evaporation

    Evaporation is the slow vaporization of a liquid and the reverse of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid State of matter spontaneously become gaseous ....
  • Evapotranspiration
    Evapotranspiration

    Evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth's land surface to atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbody....
  • Hyperhydrosis
  • Osmosis
    Osmosis

    Osmosis is the diffusion of a solvent through a Semipermeable membrane, from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration , up a solute concentration gradient....
  • Transpirational pull
    Transpirational pull

    Transpirational pull is the main phenomenon driving the flow of water in the xylem tissues of large plants....
About 90% of the water that enters the plants roots is used for transpiration.

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