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Explain the process of absorption of elements in two phases?

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The two processes of absorption of minerals in plants from soil are passive and active absorption. 

  • Passive absorption occurs because root is present in the soil rich in salts and minerals, so initially rapid uptake of minerals occurs due to concentration gradient. Higher concentration of minerals in the soil is transferred to lower concentration of minerals inside the roots across the membrane due to concentration gradient without the use of energy. Passive absorption of minerals also occurs through ion exchange by the establishment of Donnan equilibrium when the ions absorbed on the surface of cell gets exchanged with the ions present in the external solution. Mineral ions can also move passively inside the root by mass flow of water. 
  • Active absorption occurs by the movement of mineral ions against the concentration gradient by the use of metabolic energy. Due to the presence of carrier proteins on the surface of cell membrane, it helps in active absorption of mineral ions.​​

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There are 118 or so different elements in this planet, (there are 80 elements have at least one stable isotope and 38 of them are radioactive). Among the said elements Fe+(2+) is found as the most abundant element on this planet. Hydrogen and N2 are the most abundant elements in atmosphere. Such elements which are absolutely required for the normal growth and development of the plant body are called essential nutrients. of which fourteen or fifteen are absolutely required for the life processes without which plants exhibit diseased symptoms and ultimately die. Among them, eight elements are required in sufficient quantities, others in small quantities; the former referred to as macronutrients and the latter as micronutrients or true elements. Nevertheless, plants also contain elements other than the elements mentioned above, whose deficiency may not cause any diseased symptoms or death and such elements are named as non essential elements. The macronutrients are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulphur, magnesium and iron. The micronutrients are manganese, zinc, boron, copper, molybdenum and cobalt. Non-essential elements are sodium, aluminum, silicon, chlorine, gallium, and others. Nutritional elements in the periodic table are- H,B,C,N,O,F; Li; Na, Mg, Si, P,S,Cl; K,Ca, V,Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni,Cu,Zn, As,Sc,Br; Mo and I; The said elements are considered as nutrient elements in the said periodic table. Most of the above said elements are found in soil solution either in the form of inorganic or organic salts or ions; which may exist in either in free-state or bound to clay particles. Whenever there is depletion of any free ions from the soil solution, respective ions are released from clay particles into the soil solution to maintain the equilibrium. This is achieved by a process called ion exchange process. This may be due to contact ion exchange mechanism or by carbonic acid ion exchange ion mechanism.
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