Pressure-volume curves explained

In ecology, pressure-volume curves describe the relationship between total water potential (Ψt) and relative water content (R) of living organisms. These values are widely used in research on plant-water relations, and provide valuable information on the turgor, osmotic and elastic properties of plant tissues.

According to the Boyle - v'ant Hoff Relation, the product of osmotic potential and volume of solution should be a constant for any given amount of osmotically active solutes in an ideal osmotic system.

\psi0(V)

= A constant

\psi0

is osmotic potential and

(V)

is volume of solution.

This can then be manipulated to a linear relation which describes the ideal situation:

\psi0

=

\dfrac{1}V x

A constant