What belongs in this system
Water potentialOsmosisTurgorXylem tensionTranspirationStomatal conductanceHydraulic resistanceRecovery
Physiology Deep Lab · Evidence First
Water Relations & Transpiration
Follow water from the root zone through xylem to leaves, then out through stomata as vapor while examining water potential, turgor, transpiration, and hydraulic continuity.
What the system does
- Maintains cell expansion and turgor
- Moves dissolved ions through the xylem
- Supports evaporative cooling
- Couples root supply with atmospheric demand
What to record
- Leaf posture across the light cycle
- Recovery after irrigation
- Substrate moisture pattern
- Leaf versus air temperature
Keep connected causes in view
- Humidity and temperature shape vapor demand
- Root-zone oxygen affects water uptake capacity
- Salinity changes osmotic conditions
- Canopy size changes total water demand
Attach numbers to the observation
- Substrate moisture or mass trend
- Irrigation volume and timing
- Leaf temperature
- Air temperature
- RH/VPD
- Root-zone EC
- Wilt and recovery timing
Test the explanation
- Is demand exceeding root supply, or is uptake impaired despite wet media?
- Does the plant recover after irrigation and on what timescale?
- Could salinity, root damage, heat or airflow explain the same wilting pattern?
Avoid single-symptom conclusions
- Wilting can reflect supply, demand, roots, salinity, heat, or damage
- Wet media does not guarantee adequate root water uptake
- Use trend data rather than a single moisture reading
Evidence boundary: observation narrows plausible explanations; it does not prove a cause by itself. Use measurements, time course, comparisons, and appropriate testing before acting.
Root-to-leaf hydraulic pathway with stomatal vapor loss and turgor states.
