Question

What is the advantage of closed stomata to a plant when water is in short supply?

Answer 1

Hint: The tiny openings or pores in plant tissue that allow for gas exchange are known as Stomata or stoma. They are found in the epidermis of plant leaves but can also be found in some stems.

Complete Step by Step Answer:
The water vapor leaves the plant and carbon dioxide enters through the stomata in the leaf. A pair of special cells called guard cells which are specialized parenchyma cells to control each pore's opening or closing. These guard cells swell with water becoming bloated and open the stoma, and guard cells release the water present and close the stoma. Transpiration rates increase when stomata are open and transpiration rates decrease when they are closed. They play a major role in the plant for photosynthesis by helping in the intake of carbon dioxide and release of oxygen. There is a loss of water due to gas exchange during this process.

In a shortage of water supply, the stomata help maintain the water level in the plant by saving water. It avoids the evaporation and loss of water content. But this also means that the exchange of gas is no longer possible and limits their carbon supplies. The stomata open during the daytime to ensure less water loss for photosynthesis.

Note: The process of water movement through a plant so there is evaporation from aerial parts like leaves, stems, and a flower is known as transpiration. The water evaporated depends on how much water is present in the soil, environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, and wind. There is a loss of water in the process of transpiration that creates a suction force and pulls up additional water from the roots. This process aids the plant to gather vital minerals from the soil.