It is fairly common to hear of human beings getting stranded in deserts and dying of thirst. Many animals can also die in a drought when there is acute shortage of water. However does the same principle extend to the plant kingdom? Smaller plants and shrubs can die due to lack of water but what about a deep rooted tree?

Can a tree really die of thirst? That’s the question that a three year study of 226 species of trees across the globe hoped to answer. It was found that climatic changes could actually affect the water transportation system established inside the tree. If a drought strikes and the tree is unable to take in as much water as it needs from the ground the plumbing pressure of the tree drops.

This can lead to something akin to air locks in plumbing pipes in the tree’s water transportation system. These air bubbles can actually block the flow of water into the tree even when the drought is over and ground water is available in plenty. The partially blocked flow of the liquid in to the tree can actually cause it to begin dehydrating and eventually dying due to the lack of water.

So yes, the science project did manage to prove that a tree could die of thirst just as easily as a human being or an animal can. The development of the blockage did differ from tree to tree and even tree species to species. However the fundamental truth holds.