Hey there!
1. Taking in oxygen is very important because it allows your cells to do things, like make energy from the food you eat. Plants 'breathe' too, but they do it through tiny openings in leaves called stomata (singular: stoma). Stomata open and close to allow the intake of carbon dioxide and the release of oxygen.
Guard cells are cells surrounding each stoma. They help to regulate the rate of transpiration by opening and closing the stomata.If the guard cells permanently blocked the stomata, essential gas(es), such as carbon dioxide, would not have access to the stoma. Thus being, the plant would not be able to go through photosynthesis and therefore die.
2.As stated before, the stomata are openings on the bottom of
leaves that allow for gas exchange and water from the plant tissue can
evaporate through them. If the stomata are open all the time water from the plant will diffuse
into the air based on humidity, basically if there is more water in the
leaf than in the air, water will leave the leaf until the air around it
has the same amount of water as in the leaf. SO, if the air is dry the
plant could lose a lot of water, which can eventually also lead to death.
I hope I was able to explain this in a way you can understand. (I labeled the scenarios to make it easy for ya *wink*)
-Much love, Makayla
