Although little research is available on the subject, it is commonly accepted that transpiration, the evaporative loss of water from plant leaves, is required for the long-distance transport of inorganic nutrients in the xylem of higher plants. However, over the history of plant nutrition, there has been no lack of researchers who have questioned this precept. For example, Gottlieb Haberlandt, investigating the transpiration rate of the leaves of tropical plants in 1892, was the first to state clearly a view opposed to the commonly accepted one: 'The Iow rate of transpiration, which is typical for the abundantly growing plants of the moist lowlands of Java certainly is a strong argument against the still very popular assumption that the transpiration stream as vehicle for nutrient salts is of major importance for plant nutrition'. Today it is recognized that the metabolic uptake of ions and the passive uptake of water are independent processes.
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