Effect of Water Scarcity on Plants: Causes, Impacts, Examples, and Solutions

Effect of Water Scarcity on Plants: Water is the most precious resource needed by plants and animals on the earth to grow and survive. The human body contains about \(70\%\) of water. We cannot think of our survival without water. But when it comes to plants, the only source that prevents them from withering is water. We often notice plants in our garden dying and dry leaves falling during the summer season or if we are out of station for almost a week. This is because they did not get a proper water supply. Plants need water to extract nutrients from the soil to prepare their food. Seeds germinate with the help of water.

If water is not present in an adequate amount, we can see that the plants have wilted or died after a certain time span. We can understand that if water scarcity continues to increase, it will eventually wipe out the green carpet on the earth, resulting in less rainfall and a reduced supply of oxygen gas. If plants die, animals also won’t get food from green plants and thus, the entire ecological system will come to an end due to prolonged water scarcity. Due to continuous water scarcity, plants undergo genetic mutations and adaptations, and this leads to evolutionary changes to help the plant survive in a limited water supply, mostly in deserts.

Factors that Lead to Water Scarcity

With increased population, water consumption also increases, and this directly leads to a reduction of the amount of water supply in those areas. Some factors that lead to water scarcity include:
1. Bad agricultural practices
2. Increase in the human population
3. Increase in industrial demand
4. Deforestation
5. Poor water conservation practices
6. Development in infrastructures due to urbanization
7. Pumping out of groundwater to meet the demand of freshwater depletes underground water levels

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Impact of Water Scarcity on Plants

There are quite a number of negative effects that water stress has on plants. While some of the effects can be noticed instantaneously, like drying and wilting of leaves, others are noticed on prolonged water scarcity. Here are some of the main effects of water scarcity on plants that we know of:

1. Wilting – Due to water scarcity, the turgor pressure in the plant cells that keep them erect and inflated gets reduced, and thus the cells collapse. This leads to plant death.
2. Reduced Photosynthesis – The process by which plants prepare their food with the help of water, carbon dioxide and sunlight is known as photosynthesis. In case of water deficiency, plants will slow down their entire food production mechanism due to adverse effects on the photosynthesis apparatus leading to stomatal closure. As a result, the reduced amount of chlorophyll negatively impacts the plant’s life.
3. Reduction in Protein Synthesis – Due to water scarcity, plant proteins are also drastically reduced due to gene alteration. Also, water stress leads to membrane disturbances, hence affecting the lipids that are crucial for plant growth.
4. Reduction in Respiration – Plants need lots of water during photosynthesis, and due to reduced water supply, as it gets affected, respiration also slows down. This can shut the plant’s growth and cause discolouration. We can notice the dropping of fruits and flowers early from a plant due to reduced respiration because it reduces the capacity of the plant to carry extra baggage.
5. Reduction in Transpiration – Duringwater scarcity, roots absorb less water from the soil. This leads to the closing of the stomata and even wilting and thus, decreasing the transpiration rate. As water supplies nutrients to the plants, if less water supply occurs to the plants, it causes plants to die.
6. Evolutionary Adaptation – Mostly in deserts, where water scarcity always prevails, plants alter their genetic make-up to avoid droughts. Plants have \(C4\) metabolism and tend to photosynthesize faster. Thus, to reduce it, plants adapt to close stomata at night, reduce evaporation, and prevent water stress. In other words, plants will undergo biochemical, physiological, anatomical, and morphological changes over time. In extreme and unavoidable cases, plants simply die.

Plants Growing in Scarcity of Water

Plants growing in water scarcity areas are known as ‘Xerophytes’. They are succulents. For example, cactus, aloe vera, orchids, stonecrop, etc. Some morphological and anatomical adaptations help them to survive in such conditions, which are as follows:
1. They have a highly developed root system and are deeply penetrated to extract water from the different layers of soil.
2. Stems are stout, short, and woody, surrounded by thick bark.
3. Leaves are modified into spines, thorns, bristles, scales. Sometimes leaves are covered with a waxy layer of coating to reflect incident radiation.
4. They have a thick cuticle.
5. They have sunken stomata that are provided with hairs.

Effect of Water Scarcity on Animals

Due to water scarcity, forests get depleted; as a result, wild animals dwelling in these forests lose their habitats.
Due to prolonged drought, animals die at a faster rate because the water bodies inside the forests dry, and animals don’t get water to drink.
Many endangered species of animals are getting extinct due to water scarcity as these animals die because of this.

Solution for Water Scarcity

Water scarcity can cause irreversible damage to our ecosystem. We can take some measures to solve this serious issue:
Solar Water Disinfection – Solar energy like heat, UV rays, and electricity generated by the solar panel can be used to disinfect water to make it drinkable so that the chances of water-borne diseases are reduced.
Water Recycling – The process of getting water reused saves a lot of wastage. For example, rainwater harvesting can help to conserve the rainwater and use them in domestic activities like washing and watering plants in gardens. This would reduce the stress on groundwater and reduce unnecessary water runoff.
Recharging Aquifers – Beneath the water table, a water-saturated zone is situated known as aquifers. Aquifers can be recharged by letting the water stored in them and only used in extreme scarcity.
Any water leakage should be detected by the accidental escape of the water through the cracks or holes.
Better irrigation management should be practised reducing water scarcity, such as using water sprinklers, drip irrigation techniques, etc.

Summary

Water is the most abundant and precious resource on the earth. But we know that only \(3\%\) of the world’s water is freshwater that is needed by plants and animals on the earth for their proper growth and survival. Human beings need water for their survival like for respiration, digestion, to get rid of thirst, and for our daily activities like bathing, washing clothes, etc. We cannot even think of our survival without water. But when it comes to plants, water is the only source that prevents them from withering and dying.

Once we stop watering plants in our garden, we notice leaves drying and falling because of improper water supply. Plants need water for their basic activities like extracting nutrients from the soil to prepare their food, germination of seeds, blooming of flowers, etc. Thus, water is very necessary for plants. If water scarcity affects plants, it will indirectly affect us also as when plants die, the oxygen level, food for primary consumers, and rainfall also gets diminished. As a result, the entire ecological system will come to an end. Due to continuous water scarcity, plants also gain adaptations like desert plants. Thus, it is the need of the hour to conserve water for our better future.

FAQs on the Effect of Water Scarcity on Plants

Q.1. What are the causes and effects of water scarcity?
Ans: The various causes of water scarcity are bad agricultural practices, increase in human population, increase in industrial demand, deforestation, poor water conservation practices, development in infrastructures due to urbanization, pumping out of groundwater to meet the demand of freshwater depletes underground water level. The effects of water scarcity are reduced photosynthesis, wilting of plants, reduced respiration, reduced transpiration, and alteration in their adaptation.

Q.2. What are the 2 types of water scarcity?
Ans: Water scarcity is of two types – (i) Physical water scarcity: This leads to a limited water supply due to inadequate natural resources. (ii) Economic water scarcity: It is due to poor water management in agriculture, industries, etc.

Q.3. What is an example of water scarcity?
Ans: Drought is an example of prolonged water scarcity. Droughts lead to water shortages, crop damage, reduction in streamflow and depletion of groundwater and soil moisture to a great extent. Indirectly drought affects human beings also as lower yields in agriculture may reduce income for farmers and forestry owners, with an increase in food prices; also, it is life-threatening, etc.

Q.4. Which of the following is not an effect of acute scarcity of water on plants?
(a) Shortage of food
(b) Shortage of oxygen
(c) Shortage of carbon dioxide
(d) Shortage of rainfall
Ans: Among the following, the correct answer is (a) Shortage of food. Acute scarcity of water on plants may cause reduced photosynthesis, which would indirectly affect the availability of oxygen as it is a by-product of photosynthesis. Also, rainfall and carbon dioxide levels are also affected in that area. But a shortage of food is a very prolonged effect of water scarcity on plants.

Q.5. How does water scarcity affect the growth of a plant?
Ans: As water scarcity on plants reduces respiration and photosynthesis, it directly affects the growth of the plants. Because the frequency of photosynthesis is reduced, the amount of food prepared by the plant that gives it energy will reduce and thus, the growth will be adversely affected.

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