What effect does high humidity have on transpiration rates?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking about the relationship between humidity levels and the process of transpiration in plants, specifically how high humidity affects the rate at which water vapor is lost from plant leaves.
Answer
High humidity decreases transpiration rates.
The transpiration rate decreases as the humidity around the plant increases. This is because it is easier for water to evaporate into dryer air than into air that is already saturated with moisture.
Answer for screen readers
The transpiration rate decreases as the humidity around the plant increases. This is because it is easier for water to evaporate into dryer air than into air that is already saturated with moisture.
More Information
Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves. High humidity reduces the rate of this process because the air is already laden with moisture, reducing the gradient that drives water movement from the plant to the atmosphere.
Tips
A common mistake is thinking that high humidity would increase transpiration due to moist air facilitating more growth, but it actually hinders water loss from the leaves.
Sources
- Jetstream - NOAA - noaa.gov
- How does relative humidity affect transpiration? - BYJU'S - byjus.com
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