Water and Ions

Water plays a significant role in transporting essential nutrients from the soil to the root and food from the leaf to other parts of the plant. Almost all physiological activities of plants require water. Water acts as an excellent solvent and helps in the uptake and distribution of minerals, nutrients, and other solutes for growth. 

Most herbaceous plants have 10 to 15 per cent of their fresh weight as dry matter and the rest as water. Watermelon contains more than 92 per cent water. The distribution of water within the plant varies from organ to organ. Transportation in plants takes place by various means; there are three means of transport through which plants transport their necessities and sustain their life. Here, we will read about the transportation of water and ions in plants.

Explain the process of transportation 

Water and minerals are the key components of plants through the transportation process. Transportation can be described as the process in which plants transport their necessary minerals and water from roots to their leaves, called unidirectional. 

Phloem transports food from leaves to root or root to leaves in bidirectional transport. Plants carry out the process of transportation for survival; various tissues present in plants are responsible for the process of transportation. Xylem and phloem are a couple of tissues that perform the transportation of necessary elements in plants.

Transport of water and minerals

Water plays a vital role in the survival of the plant. The water is transported in plants by the process called diffusion or osmosis. The tissue xylem is responsible for the transportation as it creates suction near water and minerals and pulls them towards other parts of the plants. This upward movement of water in plants is called the ascent of sap. Nutrients get dissolved in water and are transported during the transportation of water itself and some through translocation.  

Means of transportation in plants 

There are three ways by which plants transport their essential elements:

1.Simple Diffusion

The downward movement of molecules of different states of matter from their higher concentration region to their lower concentration region is called diffusion. This process occurs simultaneously until all ions and molecules’ concentration levels get averaged. Molecules get attached to the membrane.

Simple diffusion takes place due to more pressure at high concentration levels as ions possess kinetic energy within them. The liquid and gaseous matter get absorbed due to their independent movement behaviour; plants absorb gaseous matter only by diffusion. The process of diffusion varies by temperature, pressure, and medium of place. Diffusion doesn’t depend on the living system.

Importance of Simple Diffusion

• All organic and inorganic material ions can only be absorbed by the process of diffusion for the proper functioning of plants.
• Transpiration, The driving force of transportation, occurs with simple diffusion.
• All required food materials translocate with the help of diffusion.

2.Facilitated diffusion

When diffusion occurs in the presence of permeases proteins, it is termed facilitated diffusion; permeases proteins work as a transporter in facilitated diffusion. Facilitated diffusion occurs along the concentration gradient. Some vital proteins can only get transported with the facilitated diffusion process. Uniport, symport, and Antiport are three molecules that work together in facilitated diffusion.

Uniport, Antiport, and symport are proteins that work together in a transportation process called facilitated diffusion. Antiport manages the exchanges of molecules on both opposite sides inside and outside of the cell. Further then, the uniport carries molecules across the cell membrane one by one. Molecules are unidirectional in uniport. Symport protein continuously takes a couple of molecules together to perform diffusion and transport nutrients to plants.

Importance of Facilitated diffusion

• Facilitated diffusion handles the entry and the dumping of molecules present in the plant’s cell.
• Process results in saturation of all proteins
• Facilitated diffusion takes place without expending ATP protein.

3.Active transport

Active transport occurs when the unnecessary molecules are transported due to their presence of energy; this transport occurs opposite to the concentration gradient. Proteins carry the molecules towards the side of the membrane, and ATP forces molecules to high concentrations from lower concentration levels to transport them throughout plants.

Importance of active transport

• The active transportation process absorbs most mineral ions necessary for the plant. 
• It is the only process that allows molecules to move against a concentration gradient.

Conclusion 

With this, we come to the end of the concept of water and ions in Biology. Here, we learned the Means of transport in plants; we looked at their types, differences, tissues through which they transport, importance, and other aspects. Water and minerals are the key components of plants transported through the transportation process. 

Transportation can be described as the process in which plants transport their necessary minerals and water from roots to their leaves, called unidirectional. This brief note about the means of transport in plants can help you understand the other plant-related topics more easily, along with water and ions in plants.