What is the process of water movement from the soil into the roots of a plant called?

The process of water movement from the soil into the roots of a plant is called absorption. This occurs as plants take up water through their root systems which consist of specialized root cells. These root cells are permeable, allowing water to move from the soil, where it is in a higher concentration, into the roots, where the moisture level is lower. This movement occurs via osmosis, a process where water molecules move from an area of lower solute concentration (the soil) to an area of higher solute concentration (the root cells).

Understanding absorption is crucial for recognizing how plants gather not just water, but also essential nutrients dissolved in the soil, facilitating growth and development. This is distinct from other processes such as transpiration, which refers to the release of water vapor from plants into the atmosphere, or evaporation, which is the transition of water from liquid to vapor typically occurring on a surface. Filtration might refer to a process involving the removal of impurities, and it's not relevant to the transportation of water into plant roots.