The movement of water

• Water has unique properties
  • it is polar
  • hydrogen bonds form between the water molecules
• Water moves from the roots to the leaves because of a difference in the water potential gradient between the top and bottom of the plant. This gradient is created because of different events occurring within the plant and due to the properties of water
• In the leaves, water evaporates from the mesophyll cells resulting in water (and any dissolved solutes) being pulled from the xylem vessels (transpiration pull) into the mesophyll cells
• The water that is pulled into the mesophyll cells moves across them passively (either via the apoplastic – diffusion or symplastic –?osmosis,?pathways) lowering the hydrostatic pressure within the xylem vessels and creating a?tension?on these vessels
• Xylem vessels have lignified walls to prevent them from collapsing due to the pressure differences being created from the?mass flow?(all the water molecules and any dissolved solutes move together) of water upwards
• The mass flow is helped by the polar nature of water and the hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) that form between water molecules which results in?cohesion?between water molecules and?adhesion?between the?cellulose?in the cell walls and the water molecules
• So due to the evaporation of water from the mesophyll cells in the leaves a tension is created in the xylem tissue which is transmitted all the way down the plant because of the cohesiveness of water molecules. The cohesive force results in a continuous column of water with high tensile strength (it is unlikely to break) and the adhesive force stops the water column from pulling away from the walls of the xylem vessels so water is pulled up the xylem tissue from the roots to replace what was lost in the leaves. This mechanism is called the?cohesion-tension theory

The transpiration stream

• The pathway of the water from the soil through the roots up the xylem tissue to the leaves is the?transpiration stream
• Plants aid the movement of water upwards by raising the water pressure in the roots (root pressure)
  • This is raised by?actively?secreting solutes (eg. mineral ions) into the xylem vessels in the root which lowers the water potential within the xylem
  • This results in water from the surrounding cells being drawn into the xylem (by osmosis) thus increasing the water pressure (root pressure)
• Root pressure helps move water into the xylem vessels in the roots however the volume moved does not contribute greatly to the mass flow of water to the leaves in the transpiration stream

The transpiration stream – the mass flow of water from the roots to the leaves. This is possible due to the cohesion-tension theory