Transpiration - Definition and Overview

Transpiration is a continuous process caused by the evaporation of water from leaves of plants and its corresponding uptake from roots in the soil. Transpiration cools plants down and enables mass flow of minerals to where it is needed in the plant. Mass flow is caused by the decrease in hydrostatic (water) pressure in the upper parts of the plants due to the diffusion of water out of stomata into the atmosphere. Water is absorbed at the roots by osmosis, and any dissolved solutes travel with it through the xylem.

The amount of water lost by a plant depends on its size, along with the surrounding light intensity, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and water supply. A fully grown tree may lose several hundred gallons (a few m³) of water through its leaves on a hot, dry day.

Desert plants and conifers have specially adapted structures, such as needles or thick, fleshy leaves to reduce transpiration and its effects.

See also

• Antitranspirant
• Evapotranspiration
• Transpirational pull
• Measuring transpiration with a Potometer

Transpiration may also refer to the excessive production of sweat in human beings with many problems of its own, see Hyperhydrosis, Bromhidrosis/Bromidrosis (Bromadrosis).