Transport in

Plants
 Expected Responses

A plant uses its root and stem system to obtain nutrients. Xylem and
Phloem are two tissues in the plant that transport water and starch
which are necessary for the plant to survive. It is through capillary
action that the plants transport the nutrients through these tissues.

Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFb-CWlz7kE
 What you will learn
(Transport of Food)

• Translocation (Transport of food)

– Through Phloem tissue
Materials transported in
plants.
Water and minerals: these are transported from
the roots to the living cells throughout the plant.
Water and minerals are especially needed by
cells which are metabolically active such as
fruits, flowers and growing points.

Manufactured food: sugar produced after

photosynthesis, is transported from the leaves to
all parts of the plant..
Materials transported in W
O
plants. R
K
Oxygen and carbon dioxide are transported
through tiny holes (pores) on the surface of
leaves and stems through a network of air spaces T
within the plant to and from all living cells. O
G
E
T
H
E
R
 Transport in Plants
Plants have a double transport system quite different
from that of animals
Vascular tissue is made up of two types of vessels
🍃xylem
🍃Phloem
They are found in roots, stems and leaves.
Transport
Structure
 Vascular Bundles

Xylem and phloem tissues are found in groups called

vascular bundles. The position of these bundles
varies in different parts of the plant. In a leaf, for
example, the phloem is usually found closer to the
lower surface.
 Transport in Plants
Xylem moves water from roots to the leaves, and phloem moves food
from the leaves to the rest of the plant. During transpiration water
evaporates from the leaves and draws water from the roots.
Xylem
Mechanical
support

Ligni
n • Walls are strengthened with
lignin, which is a hard and
rigid substance
 Xylem & Phloem

Plants have tissues to transport water,

nutrients and minerals.

Xylem transports water and mineral salts

from the roots up to other parts of the plant,
while phloem transports sucrose and
amino acids between the leaves and other
parts of the plant. Xylem and phloem in the
centre of the plant root
 Xylem
Mature xylem consists of elongated dead cells, arranged end to end
to form continuous vessels (tubes).

Mature xylem vessels:

● contain no cytoplasm
● are impermeable to water
● have tough walls containing a woody material called lignin
 Vascular Bundles
Root

Xylem vessels are tough and strong, so the vascular bundles are in
the centre of the root to resist forces that could pull the plant out of
the ground.

Stem

The stem has to resist compression (squashing) and bending forces

caused by the plant’s weight and the wind. The vascular bundles are
arranged near the edge of the stem, with the phloem on the outside
and the xylem on the inside.
Vascular Bundles
 Organization of vascular tissue in
Stem
1. Vascular Xylem
Bundle Cambium
Phloe
2. Cambiu m
Cambium cells can
m
divide to give rise to
new xylem and
phloem tissues, hence
thickening of the stem
 Root hair Cell
The root hairs are where most water
absorption happens. They are long
and thin so they can penetrate
between soil particles, and they have
a large surface area for absorption of
water.
 Root hair Cell
Water passes from the soil water to the root hair cell’s
cytoplasm by osmosis. This happens because the soil
water has a higher water potential than the root hair cell
cytoplasm
Osmosis causes water to pass into the root hair cells, through
the root cortex and into the xylem vessels
 What are the functions
and adaptations of
Root/ Root hairs?

Functions
1. Anchor the plant
2. Specialized in absorption of water &
dissolved minerals
Adaptations
1. Long and narrow
➢ Increase surface area to volume ratio
2. Cells are alive
➢ Provide energy for active transport
Distribution of vascular tissue in leaves
• In leaves the vascular
tissue is seen as the
midrib and veins in
the leaf
• The xylem is always
closer to the top
surface of the leaf
• The phloem is below
the xylem
 Transport Structures

Leaf Stem Root

Xyle
Phloe
m Xyle
m
Xyle m
m Phloe
m
Phloe
m
Transport
of Food
 Phloem
• It is a living structure

• Made up of sieve tubes and

companion cells(Sucrose)
• Transport food manufactured
in the leaves to other parts of the
plant by translocation. In
general, this happens between
where these substances are
made (the sources) and where
they are used or stored (the
sinks).
 ● Phloem carries phloem sap (food) from a sugar
source to a sugar sink
○ Sugar source:
■ an organ where sugar is being produced
■ Usually leaves
○ Sugar sink:
■ an organ that consumes or stores sugar
■ Usually roots, growing stems, buds, and
fruits

Phloem – Sugar
Transport
 Phloem

This means, for example, that sucrose is

transported:

● from sources in the root to sinks in the

leaves in spring time
● from sources in the leaves to sinks in the
root in the summer
Transport of
Water
 Movement of Water molecules
Osmosis is the net movement of water
molecules from a solution of higher water
potential to a solution of lower water potential
through a selectively permeable membrane
 ➢ Uptake of water by the root hair by Osmosis
➢ Uptake of dissolved minerals through active
transport
▪ Cell sap within the root hairs becomes
more concentrated than the water in the
soil

Root Pressure
Water movement into the plant
1. Water and mineral goes into the
root cells and moves across the
cortex by osmosis.This lowers the
water potential in the xylem so
• water follows by osmosis

2. The pressure from the build-up of

• water in the roots also assists in the
upward movement of water through
the stem of the plant. This upward
• push of water from the roots is called
root pressure.
Movement up the stem and out of
the leaves
3. Water leaves the xylem creating tension
in the xylem, this is why the xylem needs to
• be strengthened with lignin, to prevent
collapse. The water moves up the plants
• through the stem mainly by capillary
action.

• Cohesion between water molecules means

that the whole column of water is pushed
upwards from below and pulled upwards
from above.
• 4. Water evaporates from leaves through
the stomata, water moves through the
leaf by osmosis down the water potential
gradient
 Capillary Action
• The attractive force between the molecules
of a particular liquid is known as
Cohesion
➢ Water coheres to each other via chemical
bonds called hydrogen bonds (holds the
droplets of water together) Water is attracted
to water

• The attractive force between two

unlike materials is known as
Adhesion. : Water is attracted to
 Capillary Action

Cohesion and adhesion

are the "stickiness" that
water molecules have for
each other and for other
substances.
Forces that promotes uptake of water

1. Osmosis
2. Root Pressure
🍃Promotes uptake of water in the root
3. Transpiration pull
🍃Main force to ‘suck’ up the water
4. Capillary Action
🍃Pushes the water upwards due to the adhesion
between the walls of the xylem vessels and water
molecules as well as the cohesion between the water
molecules
Root hair Cell
 Transport in
Plants

Xyle Phloe
m m
Manufacture Siev
Mechanic
Wate d food e
al
r (Sucrose) tube
Minera Support
Lignifie
l d Companio
Salt Walls n cell
 A large
percentage of
water that is
absorbed is lost
by evaporation
through the
stomata
This process
of water
vapour being
lost mainly
through the
stomata is
known as 38
transpirati
on
 How does
transpiration help to
bring water in the
roots to the leaves?
 In the stem, water
moves up the xylem
primarily via
transpiration pull
This creates
a suction
force which
pulls
water up
the xylem
This suction force
vessels
due to transpiration is
known as
transpiration pull
 Transpiration
Water moves through the xylem vessels in a
continuous transpiration stream:

root → stem → leaf

Transpiration produces a tension or ‘pull’ on the

water in the xylem vessels by the leaves.
 Transpiration
The transpiration stream has several functions.
These include:

● transporting mineral ions

● providing water to keep cells turgid in order
to support the plant
● providing water to leaf cells for
photosynthesis
● keeping the leaves cool by evaporation
 Factors that affect Transpiration

1. Wind speed
– Increases  Increases transpiration rate
2. Humidity
– Increases  Decreases transpiration rate
3. Light intensity
– Increases  Increases transpiration rate
4. Temperature
– Increases  Increases transpiration rate
5. Water supply
– Decreases  Decreases transpiration rate
The table below explains how factors increase the rate of transpiration:

Factors Change in factor that Explanation

increases transpiration rate
Temperature Increase Increases molecular

movement so that more water

molecules evaporate from

cell surfaces. The rate of

diffusion of water molecules

from the leaf is increased.

The table below explains how factors increase the rate of transpiration:

Factors Change in factor that Explanation

increases transpiration rate

Humidity Decrease Reduces the concentration of

water molecules outside the

leaf. Diffusion of water from

the leaf increases.

 The table below explains how factors increase the rate of transpiration:

Factors Change in factor that Explanation

increases transpiration rate

Air Movement Increase Removes water vapour from leaf

surfaces. More water diffuses from

the leaf.

Light Intensity Increase Increases the rate of

photosynthesis. Stomata open so

that water diffuses out of the leaf.