How do plants absorb water from the soil?
Pure water’s water potential is 0, so if a cell has mineral and salts it has a lower water potential than pure water. The plant absorbs water through the roots because of water potentials. If the soil has a higher water potential, (more water and less minerals, nutrients etc) then the water will move into the plant, as long as it has a lower water potential. The plant lowers it’s water potential by taking in lots of minerals and salts to make it’s water potential as low as possible, and as the water enters it the water is moved up the stem to the rest of the plant. This is to keep the water potential constantly low. The water is moved through the cell by three different methods. Apoplast, symplast and vacuolar pathways. Apoplast moves the water along the cell walls. Symplast through the cytoplasm, and through the gaps between cells (plasmodesmata). Vacuolar pathway is through the vacuole.
