Transport In Plants Flashcards
Why do multicellular plants need transport systems
- they have a high surface area to volume ratio so they cannot rely on diffusion alone
- metabolic demands, oxygen and glucose needs to be transported to cells that don’t photosynthesise. Hormones and mineral ions will also need to be transported
- size, plants need effective transport systems to move substance up and down from the tip of the roots to the topmost leaves and stems
What is a herbaceous dicotyledonous plant
Are plants that contain two organs that act as food stores, with soft tissue and a short life cycle.
What is the vascular system is in dicotyledonous plant
Is a series of transport vessels running through the stem, roots and leaves. In herbaceous dicotyledonous plants it is made up of the xylem and phloem.
What does the xylem do
Transports mineral ions and water from the roots to the shoots and leaves. They also provide structure and support.
What does the phloem do
Transports food in the form of organic salutes around the plant. For example it supplies amino acids and sugars for respiration and photosynthesis
4 types of cells that make up the xylem tissue
- xylem vessels
- tracheids
- parenchyma
- fibres
Xylem structure
- made of hollow tubes joined end to end with lignified walls
- spirals of lignin run around the lumen of the xylem, reinforcing the wall
- xylem has bordered Pits
4 types of cells that make up the phloem
- sieve tube element
- companion cell
- parenchyma
- fibres
Structure of phloem
- companion cell they maintain their nucleus and all their organelles. They act as a life support for the sieve tube cells.
- sieve plates
- sieve tube element are living cells that form the tube for transporting food through the plant. Each sieve tube has a companion cells and defined by two sieve plates.
Define transpiration
Is the loss of water vapour from the leaves and stems of a plant, mainly through the stomata of the leaves. The movement of water from roots to shoots to leaves is called the transpiration stream.
How is water transported up the stem to the leaves
- water evaporates from the spongy mesophyll into the air spaces of the leaf.
- water vapour then diffuses out of the leaf via the stomata
- water moves from adjacent cells into the spongy mesophyll by osmosis down a water potential gradient
- this creates tension in the xylem this is know as transpiration pull
- within the xylem vessels columns of water are held together by cohesion and adhesion
- the column of water is pulled up the xylem by transpiration pull, capillary action and root pressure
Evidence for cohesion and tension theory
Tree rings and broken xylem vessel
Tree rings
When transpiration is highest during the day, tension in the xylem is at its highest too. As a result the tree shrinks in diameter. At night when transpiration is lowest, tension is lowest and diameter of the tree increases.
Broken xylem vessel
In most circumstances air is drawn into the xylem rather than water leaking out. Once air is pulled in the plant can no longer move water up the stem as the continuous stream of water molecules held together by a cohesive force is broken.
Factors affecting the rate of transpiration
- light intensity
- relative humidity
- temperature
- soil water availability
- air movement
How does light intensity affect transpiration
The lighter it is the more transpiration that occurs because stomata’s open up when it gets light and close when dark.