During
Transpiration process, plants release water (that has been absorbed from the
earth through their roots) into the
atmosphere through stomata in the form of water vapour. Water constantly
evaporates from the surface of leaves through stomata. Transpiration can be
taken as analogous to perspiration (sweating) in animals that serves to cool
the body but in fact it serves many other purposes for plants and tree. The
process of transpiration helps to
maintain the turgidity of the plant, keeps the parts of plant cool and
helps opening and closing of stomata that are used for exchange of gases such
as Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen for Photosynthesis and Respiration. If excessive
water is lost through transpiration, the plant starts wilting. Transpiration is
an essential process in Water Cycle.
Do
you know that about 10 percent of the earth's atmospheric moisture can be
attributed to plant transpiration? Plants lose about 90% of absorbed water through transpiration and use only 10% water
for biological activities.
The
plants growing in deserts such as Cactus (xerophytes) where water is scarce have either
very small leaves or no leaves at all for preserving water. Leaves often turn
into thorns. These plants respire and photosynthesize through stomata present on their green stems.
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