3.0-Ch-Fig-3.0-NoNum.jpeg
Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) forest in Pemberton, Western Australia. Karri may reach the height of 80 m, and is the second highest hardwood tree in the world (Photograph courtesy A. Munns)
Chapter editors: Brendan Choat and Rana Munns
Contributing Authors: B Choat1, R Munns2,3,4, M McCully2, JB Passioura2, SD Tyerman4,5, H Bramley6 and M Canny*
1Hawkesbury Institute of the Environment, University of Western Sydney; 2CSIRO Agriculture, Canberra; 3School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia; 4ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology; 5School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide; 6Facutly of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney; *Martin Canny passed away in 2013
Evolutionary changes were necessary for plants to inhabit land. Aquatic plants obtain all their resources from the surrounding water, whereas terrestrial plants are nourished from the soil and the atmosphere. Roots growing into soil absorb water and nutrients, while leaves, supported by a stem superstructure in the aerial environment, intercept sunlight and CO2 for photosynthesis. This division of labour results in assimilatory organs of land plants being nutritionally inter-dependent; roots depend on a supply of photoassimilates from leaves, while shoots (leaves, stems, flowers and fruits) depend on roots to supply water and mineral nutrients. Long-distance transport is therefore a special property of land plants. In extreme cases, sap must move up to 100 m vertically and overcome gravity to rise to tree tops.
This chapter explains the mechanism by which water can rise to the top of a tall tree, and the cellular processes essential for plant cells to maintain turgor.