The Effects of Wind Speed on the Transpiration Rate of Prunus laurocerasus Mei-Lani Bixby and Starr Matsushita Bio111BA

December 7, 2007

ABSTRACT Transpiration is the process of water evaporating from the stomata of a plant. Many environmental factors have different effects on the turgidity of the guard cells which control stomata function and transpiration. In this experiment, the effect of wind speed on the transpiration rate of a cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) was measured using a potometer. The results showed transpiration increased with the presence of wind, but did not increase as wind speed increased. A reason for that might be that as the wind stresses the plant, transpiration rates increase initially as wind speed increases, but slow down as the stomata close to conserve water. INTRODUCTION Water plays a vital role for the existence of life on earth (UPS Staff, 2007). In plants, water is necessary for photosynthesis to create food for the plants. For photosynthesis to occur, transpiration, the process of water evaporation from plants, must take place to pull water from the roots. Transpiration provides the plant with the water needed for food production. In transpiration, water is pulled from the soil by the plants roots because of the difference in water potential (Campbell and Reece, 2005). Water potential is created by pressure and solute gradients; water will flow from a higher concentration to a lower concentration in both cases. From the roots, water and minerals travel up the length of the plant through the xylem to provide nutrients throughout the plant (UPS Staff, 2007). The cohesive and adhesive properties of water allow the flow of water and minerals to travel against gravity in the xylem. These properties are the results of waters molecular structure. Water is composed of two hydrogen atoms bound to an oxygen atom in a polar covalent bond. This type of bond creates partial charges in the water

3 molecule with the oxygen positively charged and the hydrogen negatively charged. Hydrogen bonds are created from the attraction of the positively charged oxygen of one water molecule to the negatively charged hydrogen of another water molecule. These weak bonds result in cohesive properties binding one water molecule to another and adhesive properties holding water molecules to the walls of the xylem (Campbell and Reece, 2005). Water travels through the xylem from a push and a pull force, collectively known as bulk flow. Because water is absorbed through the roots, root pressure is created. This pressure pushes water and minerals up the xylem from below. However, the positive pressure from the roots only pushes water several meters up the length of the plant. Negative pressure present at the top of the plant also pulls water and minerals up through the xylem. This negative pressure results from the evaporation of water already present in the leaves. It can best be thought of as water being sucked through a straw (Campbell and Reece, 2005). Water evaporates through microscopic pores on the surface of the leaves called stomata (Hosy et al., 2003). Approximately 90% of the water in plants is lost through the evaporation from the stomata. The stomata are enveloped by a pair of guard cells. The stomata open and close as a result of the turgidity of the guard cells. If guard cells are turgid (swollen) from the high amount of water in them, the stoma is closed. If the water pressure in the guard cells decreases, the cells become flaccid and open the stomata. This results in quicker rates of evaporation and a decreasing amount of water pressure (Campbell and Reece, 2005).

4 Guard cells will swell when stimulated by blue light, when CO2 is depleted from the cells, or when determined by their circadian rhythm (Campbell and Reece, 2005). High temperatures, low humidity, and wind will cause transpiration to occur at a faster rate as well because evaporation on the leaves surface speeds up (Campbell and Reece, 2005). We hypothesized, in this experiment using a cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) stem, that if wind speed increased, the rate of transpiration would increase as well. We anticipated that as wind speed increased more air molecules would strike the surface of the water molecules on the leaf. The increased wind speed would cause evaporation to increase from the surface of the leaf, lowering the water pressure at the top of the plant, which would pull water at a faster rate from the roots of the plant. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was modified from the Transpiration I lab created by UPS Staff (2007). A three speed fan was used to simulate winds of speeds 0 m/s, 2 m/s, and 4 m/s. The same cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) stem was used for all three repetitions of the experiment. A Turbometer (Davis Instruments E 97767) recorded wind speed. The volume of water transpired by the plant was measured with a potometer every minute for twenty minutes. To help control outside variables, such as light intensity, temperature, and humidity, the experiment was performed in an environment that controlled these conditions. Measurements of outside variables were taken once for each wind speeds repetition of the experiment. Light intensity (Photosynthetic Photon Flux) was measured using a Quantum Meter (Apogee Instruments Inc., BQM, SUN-1257). A pen type thermo-hygrometer (CE, ID Number 230186606) measured the temperature and humidity level. The results of the procedure were compared with other groups who repeated identical experiments to calculate average rates of transpiration for each varying wind

5 speed. The average rate of each individual experiment was calculated by dividing the change in volume transpired by the product of the change in time and surface area. RESULTS Prunus laurocerasus transpired more with the presence of wind. The average rate of transpiration exhibited by the cherry laurel stem was 2.26 x 10-2 mL/sec at wind speed 0 m/s. The average rate of transpiration increased with the presence of wind with rates of 3.24 x 10-2 mL/sec at 2 m/s and 3.03 x 10-2 mL/sec at 4 m/s (Figure 1). In comparison to one another, the rate increased from 0 m/s wind speed to 2 m/s wind speed by 30%, yet decreased by 7% from 2 m/s to 4 m/s wind speed. The ambient conditions were measured at each speed. The conditions are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Ambient conditions for each speed Wind Speed (m/s) Light Intensity (mol/m^2s) 0 19 2 26 4 25

Temperature (C) 20.3 20.0 20.1

Humidity (%) 56 57 54

This data reflects the results of just one experiment, yet it mirrors the average changes in rates of transpiration demonstrated by twenty seven repetitions of the experiment. The average rates of all the experiments displayed the same increase from 0 m/s to 2 m/s in and decrease from 2 m/s to 4 m/s (Figure 2). The rate of transpiration increased from 0 m/s to 2 m/s by 30%, while the rate of transpiration decreased from 2 m/s to 4 m/s by less than 1%. This pattern shows that the presence of wind increases the rate of transpiration; however, the magnitude of the winds speed does not dramatically

6 affect transpiration rates. In fact, in the majority of the experiments, the calculated standard error showed that transpiration rates did not increase, but leveled off instead. The ambient conditions were measured with every repetition of the experiment. The average conditions are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Average ambient conditions for each speed Wind Speed (m/s) Light Intensity (mol/m^2s) 0 18.01 2 18.31 4 18.78

Temperature (C) 19.48 19.38 19.38

Humidity (%) 51.79 49.23 47.75

DISCUSSION The experiment showed that transpiration rates will increase in the presence of wind, but will level off as wind speed increases. There was a dramatic increase in the rate of transpiration with the introduction of wind into the experiment, but not when wind speed increased (Figures 1 and 2). This conflicts with our hypothesis because we anticipated that transpiration rates related directly to wind speed. The conflict may arise because of the existence of a maximum transpiration rate or winds effect on stomatal function. There may be several reasons to explain why this occurred. The dramatic increase may have resulted because more air molecules struck the water molecules on the surface of the leaf causing evaporation to pull more water from the plant (Campbell and Reece, 2005). This would reflect the increased rate as a result of winds presence. Increased transpiration rates were also observed in a previous experiment (Taylor and others, 2001) where blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plants were placed in different locations to test how plant location affected transpiration. Plant location included variables such as wind advection (air flow) and environmental conditions. It was found

7 that transpiration increased with wind present, but the experiment did not comment on the relationship between transpiration rates and wind speed. The slight decrease in transpiration rate with increasing wind speed may result from the stomatas reaction to stress. As the plant endured harsher wind speeds, the stomata closed to limit evaporation and conserve water in the plant (Campbell and Reece, 2005). Because the procedure increased wind speed with each repetition this theory suggests that the stomata closed and as a result transpiration decreased as wind speed increased from 2 m/s to 4 m/s. One might test this theory by repeating the experiment and observing the stomata with a microscope. Another possible explanation for the decrease in transpiration rates from 2 m/s to 4 m/s is that the plant may have a threshold for the rate at which it can perform transpiration. The rate of transpiration increases from the presence of wind, but its physical structure may not allow for transpiration to increase past a certain point. As a result, one would notice transpiration rates leveling off as wind speed continued to increase. This theory could be tested if the experiment was repeated, but with a wider variety of wind speeds. For example, instead of only three winds speeds, fifteen wind speeds could be tested to show a larger spectrum of transpiration rates relating to wind speed.

Figure 1 Average rate of transpiration by cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) at varied wind speeds. Measurements of total volume transpired were taken with a potometer. Procedure was completed at wind speeds of 0 m/s, 2 m/s, and 4 m/s as measured by an anemometer. The average rate of transpiration was determined by dividing the change in volume transpired by the change in time. The average rate of transpiration at 0 m/s was 2.26 x 10 -2 ml/sec; 2 m/s, 3.24 x 10 -2 ml/sec; 4 m/s, 3.03 x 10-2 ml/sec. The results showed that the average rate of transpiration does increase with the presence of wind; however, 2 m/s had a higher average rate than wind speed 4 m/s. Ambient conditions remained mostly constant for each wind speed.

Figure 2 The average rate of transpiration for different wind speeds. The average rate of transpiration for each wind speed was determined from the average rates of transpiration from 28 sets of data. The transpiration rate was determined by dividing the change in volume transpired by the product of the change in time and surface area of the leaf. The volume transpired was measured with a potometer. Wind speeds were low (0 m/s), medium (2 m/s), and high (4 m/s). Wind speeds were measured with an anemometer. Standard error bars are shown. The graph shows that no statistically significant differences were observed between rates of transpiration of wind speeds 2 m/s or 4 m/s.

10 REFERENCES Campbell N, Reece J. 2005. Biology. San Francisco: Pearson. 1231 p. Hosy E, Vavasseur A, Mouline K, Dreyer I, Gaymard F, Pore F, Boucherez J, Lebaudy A, Bouchez D, Vry A, et al. 2003. The Arabidopsis outward K+ channel GORK is involved in regulation of stomatal movements and plant transpiration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100(9): 5549-5554. Taylor PJ, Nuberg IK, Hatton, TJ. 2001. Enhanced transpiration in response to wind effects at the edge of a blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantation. Tree Physiology. 21:403408. UPS Staff. 2007. Transpiration 1. BIO111BA, Biology Department, University of Puget Sound.