Uptake and Transport of Mineral Nutrients

Where Mineral Nutrients Come From

A plant obtains its carbon, and most of its oxygen, directly from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Every other nutritional requirement — the various mineral nutrients a plant needs to grow and function — is instead obtained from the water and minerals present in the surrounding soil. Because these minerals must first be taken up by the roots before they can reach the rest of the plant, the mechanisms of mineral uptake and their subs …