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Activty 2

 Environmental Factors that Increase Transpiration Rate

  1. High temperature: increases capacity of atmospheric air to hold more water vapour; increases internal temperature of leaf, which in turn increases LHV and therefore enhances evaporation from the leaf cells.
  2. Low relative humidity: saturation deficit is high; more water vapour diffuses out of the leaf into the atmosphere
  3. Wind: carries away water vapour around leaves, maintaining a high diffusion gradient between the inside and outside of the leaf
  4. High light intensity: causes stomata to open fully, exposing sub-stomatal air into direct contact with the outside environment.
  5. Low atmospheric pressure/high intercellular air pressure: more water vapour is lost to the atmosphere due to the pressure deficit in the atmosphere
  6. Adequate water supply from the soil: walls of mesophyll cells are kept continuously wet