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Reported by:
COSCOS, Joseph Noel O.
BSCE ƛ 5
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‡mranspiration is the process by which moisture
is carried through plants from roots to small
pores on the underside of leaves, where it
changes to vapor and released to the
atmosphere.
‡mranspiration is essentially evaporation of
water from plant leaves.
‡mranspiration also includes a process called
guttation, which is the loss of water in liquid
form from the uninjured leaf or stem of the
plant, principally through water stomata.

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‡§n general, evapotranspiration is the sum of
evaporation and transpiration.
‡Evapotranspiration will not include
evaporation from surface water.
‡Evapotranspiration is defined as the water
lost to the atmosphere from the ground
surface, evaporation from the capillary fringe
of the groundwater table, and the
transpiration of groundwater by plants
whose roots tap the capillary fringe of the
groundwater table.
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Just as you release water vapor when you
breathe, plants do, too ƛ although the
term "transpire" is more appropriate than
"breathe.Ơ
mhis picture shows water vapor transpired
from plant leaves after a plastic bag has
been tied around the stem for about an
hour.
§f the bag had been wrapped around the
soil below it, too, then even more water
vapor would have been released, as water
also evaporates from the soil.
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‡wlants put down roots into the soil to
draw water and nutrients up into the
stems and leaves. Some of this water is
returned to the air by transpiration.
‡mranspiration rates vary widely
depending on weather conditions, such as
temperature, humidity, sunlight
availability and intensity, precipitation,
soil type and saturation, wind, and land
slope.

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mhe amount of water that plants transpire
varies greatly geographically and over time.
mhere are a number of factors that
determine transpiration rates:
memperature
Relative humidity
Wind and air movement
Soil-moisture availability
mype of plant

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m mranspiration rates go up as
the temperature goes up, especially during the
growing season, when the air is warmer due to
stronger sunlight and warmer air masses.
Higher temperatures cause the plant cells
which control the openings (stoma) where
water is released to the atmosphere to open,
whereas colder temperatures cause the
openings to close.
 ! " # $ As the relative humidity of
the air surrounding the plant rises the
transpiration rate falls. §t is easier for water to
evaporate into dryer air than into more
saturated air.

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 %# %#   &!% §ncreased
movement of the air around a plant will result
in a higher transpiration rate. mhis is
somewhat related to the relative humidity of
the air, in that as water transpires from a leaf,
the water saturates the air surrounding the
leaf. §f there is no wind, the air around the
leaf may not move very much, raising the
humidity of the air around the leaf. Wind will
move the air around, with the result that the
more saturated air close to the leaf is replaced
by drier air.

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& '& ( ! )  $ When
moisture is lacking, plants can begin to
senesce (premature ageing, which can
result in leaf loss) and transpire less
water.
m$ &* % wlants transpire water
at different rates. Some plants which
grow in dry regions, such as cacti and
succulents, conserve precious water by
transpiring less water than other plants.
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§n many places, the top layer of the soil
where plant roots are located is above the
water table and thus is often wet to some
extent, but is not totally saturated, as is
soil below the water table. mhe soil above
the water table gets wet when it rains as
water infiltrates into it from the surface,
But, it will dry out without additional
precipitation. Since the water table is
usually below the depth of the plant roots,
the plants are dependent on water
supplied by precipitation.
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As this diagram shows, in places where the
water table is near the land surface, such
as next to lakes and oceans, plant roots
can penetrate into the saturated zone
below the water table, allowing the plants
to transpire water directly from the
ground-water system. Here, transpiration
of ground water commonly results in a
drawdown of the water table much like the
effect of a pumped well (cone of
depression).

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Sublimation is the conversion
between the solid and the
gaseous phases of matter, with
no intermediate liquid stage.
in the water cycle, sublimation is
most often used to describe the
process of snow and ice changing
into water vapor in the air
without first melting into water.
mhe opposite of sublimation is
"deposition", where water vapor
changes directly into iceƜsuch a
snowflakes and frost.
 
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Sublimation occurs more readily when
certain weather conditions are present,
such as low relative humidity and dry
winds.
Sublimation also occurs more at higher
altitudes, where the air pressure is less
than at lower altitudes. Energy, such as
strong sunlight, is also needed.
Low temperatures, strong winds, intense
sunlight, very low air pressure Ɯ just the
recipe for sublimation to occur.

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Without the addition of energy (heat) to the
process, ice would not sublimate into vapor.
Water has a physical property called the "heat
of vaporization," which is the amount of heat
required to vaporize water. §f you want an
exact amount of heat, the heat of vaporization
of water is 540 calories/gram, or 2,260
kilojoules/kilogram. mhat is a lot more energy
than is needed to convert water to ice (the
latent heat of fusion), which is 80
calories/gram. And, it is also about five times
the energy needed for heating water from the
freezing point to the boiling point.

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§n summary, cubic centimeter (1 gram)
of water in ice form requires 80 calories
to melt, 100 calories to rise to boiling
point, and another 540 calories to
vaporize.
Sublimation requires the same energy
input, but bypasses the liquid phase.
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