Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for plants of living in an aqueous environment compared to a terrestrial one?
Introduction:
Plants are commonly classified to two main types: aquatic plant and land plant. They have different features to adapt the living environment. What by meant is that they require different adaptions to stay alive in their respective environment such as humidity and structure of leaves. Aquatic plants referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes. They need a special adaptation to live in water or at water surfaces and the most common adaption is aerenchyma. Land plants like the name mentioned is plants that live primarily in terrestrial habitats. As they are living in different environment, there are advantages and disadvantages for living in a terrestrial environment as well as aquatic one.
Photosynthesis in Aquatic Plants and Land Plants
Process of producing food with light energy remains the same for both aquatic and terrestrial plants. They both require the same raw materials – carbon dioxide and water to synthesis glucose. Terrestrial plants can absorb carbon dioxide from atmospheric air and water from the soil through their roots. Obviously land plants can work through photosynthesis easily without any special adaptations. But terrestrial plants need to face a problem of abundance of water.
Abundance of water:
One of the three requirements of photosynthesis – water is in a sufficient amount for aquatic plants as they are submerge in water. Therefore it is easily to retain water from the surrounding for them. So the major challenge of aquatic plants is to obtain carbon dioxide and light. While terrestrial plants are mostly challenged on how to prevent water loss from evaporation and desiccation due to weather or a low humidity environment. Hence, cuticles on the upper surface of epidemics to prevent water loss are more likely to appear in terrestrial plants. Another way to deal with