Soaking
It All In
Some of the water that falls on Earth goes through the process of
infiltration. During infiltration, water is soaked into the ground. Some of this water returns to the Earth's surface and some of it remains underground and becomes
groundwater. Plants absorb water from the soil. The water moves from the roots through the stems to the leaves. Once water reaches the leaves, some of it evaporates from the leaves, adding to the amount of water vapor in the air. This process of evaporation through plant leaves is called
transpiration.
Making Rain
In large forests, an enormous amount of water will
transpire through leaves. In warm parts of the Earth, particularly near the Equator, plants create so much water vapor that they make their own weather!
Rainforests rely on transpiration for most of their water.
When temperature conditions are right, these droplets gather together and form clouds. The clouds move over the land, and precipitation falls as rain, ice or snow. The water fills streams and rivers, and eventually flows back into the oceans where evaporation starts the process all over again!
Some of the water that falls on Earth goes through the process of infiltration. During infiltration, water is soaked into the ground. Some of this water returns to the Earth's surface and some of it remains underground and becomes groundwater. Plants absorb water from the soil. The water moves from the roots through the stems to the leaves. Once water reaches the leaves, some of it evaporates from the leaves, adding to the amount of water vapor in the air. This process of evaporation through plant leaves is called transpiration.
In large forests, an enormous amount of water will transpire through leaves. In warm parts of the Earth, particularly near the Equator, plants create so much water vapor that they make their own weather! Rainforests rely on transpiration for most of their water. 