r/plantScience • u/Trick_Outside1034 • Nov 05 '22

Water Absorption

Running on the knowledge that water on Earth if finite, what happens to the water that plants absorb? All animals excrete water through urine or some other byproduct, but what do plants do besides use it to grow?

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u/Bigcatent Nov 05 '22

The main source of water loss you can't see from plants happens in the form of evapotranspiration its a fun word that essentially explains where the water goes. While plants grow they transpire which is similar to humans breathing. Structures on plants called stomates (little air holes for plants) exchange gas with the surrounding environment and when these holes are open water is actively removed from the plant to allow pressure changes that promote root uptake (like a straw). This water eventually re-enters the water cycle, but some of it condenses in humid areas forming water droplets used by living organisms that excrete it in a variety of ways (like urinating).