Adaptations To Dry Conditions
Drought tolerant plants typically make use of either C4 carbon fixation or crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) to fix carbon during photosynthesis. Both are improvements over the more common but more basal C3 pathway in that they are more energy efficient. CAM is particularly good for arid conditions because carbon dioxide can be taken up at night, allowing the stomata to stay closed during the heat of day and thus reducing water loss.
Many adaptations for dry conditions are structural, including the following:
- Adaptations of the stomata to reduce water loss, such as reduced numbers or waxy surfaces.
- Water storage in succulent above-ground parts or water-filled tubers.
- Adaptations in the root system to increase water absorption.
- Trichomes (small hairs) on the leaves to absorb atmospheric water.
Read more about this topic: Drought Tolerance
Famous quotes containing the words dry and/or conditions:
“The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead—
There were no birds to fly.”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)
“When and under what conditions is the black man to have a free ballot? When is he in fact to have those full civil rights which have so long been his in law?”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)