Apart from humans and animals, we sometimes often forget that plants are also alive on our planet. Considering how essential their role is in life, it’s hard to think that they are the most undervalued living organisms on earth and that without them we wouldn’t survive.
They are alive because, just like us and animals, they also have needs to fulfill, which is required for them to survive.
Take water, for instance. Water is vital to their very existence. Plants use water to prevent their own cells from drying out. They also need water, just like humans, to move nutrients and raw materials around or throughout their systems. The water they transport is primarily used for the process of photosynthesis, as well as seed production.
With the occurrence of water stress, however, they often fail to grow or even thrive properly, and just like humans, plants get sick too.
Water stress in plants
Water stress occurs when there isn’t enough water to go around in plants. Since some plants require more water than others, some may suffer because of a lack of rainfall, a lack of water in the ground, or the inability to store enough water to get them through the dry months.
The effects of water stress
- Reduced photosynthesis – This process is considered one of the most important processes on earth, as photosynthesis, allows plants to thrive by creating their own source of food, which in return, provides adequate oxygen to earth.
Considering that the amount of water, sunlight, as well as carbon dioxide, all play a key role in their food production, preventing water stress is crucial.
- Wilting – One of the very first effects of water stress in plants, is wilting, which affects plants by inflating their cells, which gives changes their form and causes them to collapse, which then causes the plant’s cells to deflate completely and causing them to die.
- Reduced respiration – As respiration is needed for the breakdown of food supply, which gets used for energy in plants, having it reduced by water stress, causes a lot of problems in plants.
Get water coolers and water delivery from Living-Water in London.