Soil plant atmosphere continuum Soil plant atmosphere continuum The soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is the pathway for water moving from soil through plants to the atmosphere. Continuum in the description highlights the continuous nature of water connection through the pathway. The low water potential of the atmosphere, and relatively higher (i.e. less negative) water potential inside leaves, leads to a diffusion gradient across the stomatal pores of leaves, drawing water out of the leaves as vapour. As water vapour transpires out of the leaf, further water molecules evaporate off the surface of mesophyll cells to replace the lost molecules since water in the air inside
Plant cuticle Plant cuticle A plant cuticle is a protecting film covering the epidermis of leaves, young shoots and other aerial plant organs without periderm. It consists of lipid and hydrocarbon polymers impregnated with wax, and is synthesized exclusively by the epidermal cells. The plant cuticle is a layer of lipid polymers impregnated with waxes that is present on the outer surfaces of the primary organs of all vascular land plants. It is also present in the sporophyte generation of hornworts, and in both sporophyte and gametophyte generations of mosses The plant cuticle forms a coherent outer covering of the plant that