Estimates of water loss by a single corn plant exceed 200 liters (53 gallons) over a growing season. This loss of water by the shoots of plants is called transpiration. Transpiration provides the driving force for the movement of water up the plant from the roots to the leaves. This movement ultimately results in further uptake of water from the soil.
Of course, the water taken up by the plant serves functions within the plant as well. Water is the environment in which life and its reactions occur. Water, and the materials dissolved or suspended in it, make up the cytoplasm of cells and the interior of cellular compartments. It is the uptake of water that drives the growth of plant cells. Water enters into many reactions or chemical changes in cells, including the reactions that capture light energy during photosynthesis.
The Causes of Transpiration.
The small pores through which shoots lose water to the atmosphere are called stomata. These pores, which allow carbon dioxide into the plant from the surrounding air, are actually spaces between the cells that make up the "skin," or epidermis, of the shoot. Stomata can be open or closed, depending on the action of a pair of cells, called guard cells, surrounding the pore.
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