alleryStart learning →What is the consequence of cavitation in a tall tree?
ASugars crystallise inside the sieve tubes
BGas bubbles plug xylem vessels as embolisms
CStomata are forced permanently wide open
DRoot hairs lose contact with the soil water
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Gas bubbles plug xylem vessels as embolisms
1. Cavitation is the process by which gas bubbles form in the xylem under tension.
2. Small perforations between vessel elements reduce the number and size of those bubbles.
3. Bubbles that do form interrupt the continuous stream of water, and that break is called an embolism.
4. The taller the tree, the greater the tension needed to pull water and the more cavitation events occur.
5. In larger trees the resulting embolisms can plug xylem vessels and make them non functional.
6. Sieve tubes and stomata belong to other parts of the transport system and are not what cavitation blocks.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 30 "Plant Form and Physiology", section 30.5 Transport of Water and Solutes in Plants_
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