Educational Model: Plant Water Balance
The model provides an understanding of plant water balance and mechanisms of its regulation.
This model is a component of the IUMC (Innovative Educational and Methodological Complex) "Ecology: Constructing the Biosphere", developed in 2008 by D. A. Shabanov, A. G. Kozlenko, and M. A. Kravchenko by order of the NTFP (National Training Foundation) of the Russian Federation (more about this project is in the article "Innovation and Reality"; reasons why this complex is not used are briefly described in the column "Textbooks: Straight into the Day After Tomorrow"). This model is posted here for educational use. The model provides an understanding of plant water balance and mechanisms of its regulation. The theoretical material related to the model is partially presented in sections "Major Factors in the Terrestrial Biosphere" and "Water Balance of Organisms" of the manual "Ecology: Biology of Interactions". For terrestrial vascular plants, it is typical to absorb water from the environment via the root system and lose it via transpiration. Water uptake is largely determined by osmotic properties of soil solutions and is weakly regulated by the plant. Water losses during transpiration are unavoidable because evaporation (or other mechanisms, such as guttation) ensures transport of substances through the plant. At the same time, the plant must regulate water loss, primarily by structural features. Therefore, maintaining water balance is one of the key problems of terrestrial plants. To begin working with the model, click the splash screen. Instructions are located at the bottom of the window; if they do not fit in the box, they can be scrolled with the arrows on the right. While working with the model, determine how structural and physiological plant traits selectable in the tool area affect water exchange. Experimentally select optimal parameters.