Importance of Water to Plants
- Water is essential to plant survival for several reasons:
- Photosynthesis
- Water is a reactant in photosynthesis
- Mineral transport
- Minerals dissolve in water, allowing them to be easily transported when water moves from the roots to the leaves
- Support
- Plants that have a high water content will have turgid cells; this causes the cell vacuoles to exert outward pressure on the plant cell walls and provides essential structural support for non-woody parts of plants
- When water availability is low plant cells can become flaccid, causing plants to wilt
- Photosynthesis