Due to availability of less water how does the plant cope up with lack of water in desert conditions?

Desert plants work hard to make use of what's available. They use the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) into sugar, a process called photosynthesis. During this process, stomata on a plant's leaves and stems open to absorb carbon dioxide from the air and in return release oxygen. Each time a plant opens its pores, some water escapes. This is called transpiration.

Replacing this lost water is not easy with so little annual moisture, and if the water cannot be replaced, the desert plants will die. So desert plants have acquired special adaptations that help them reduce water loss. Here are some of their adaptations:

• Smaller, fewer, and deeper pores — Many desert plants have smaller, fewer, and deeper pores than other plants. With such pores, hot and dry winds are prevented from blowing directly across the pores and evaporating so much of the plants' water.

• Waxy cover — Plants not only lose water through their pores, they also lose it through the cell walls on their leaves. The leaves and stems of many desert plants have a thick covering that is coated with a waxy substance, allowing them to seal in and protect what moisture they already have.

• Nocturnal — Plants typically lose a large amount of water through transpiration, especially on hot, sunny days when they are doing photosynthesis like crazy. So if transpiration occurs during daytime hours, high temperatures can cause water to evaporate quickly. But if the process occurs at night, less water is lost. Often times, desert plants do not open their pores until the sun goes down and temperatures fall.

• Little leaves — Most desert plants have small leaves, spikes for leaves, or no leaves at all. The smaller or fewer leaves a plant has, the less water is lost during transpiration since it has less surface area open to the sun and wind. For desert plants with small leaves or none at all, the twigs and stems help to carry out photosynthesis.

• Hide and rest — During the hottest time of the day many desert grasses and other plants “roll up” their leaves (hide and rest) to reduce the amount of surface area exposed to sun and wind. Some plants simply position themselves so they have less exposure to the climatic elements on a hot, sunny day.

• Drop 'em in drought — Some desert plants grow leaves during the high moisture period of the year and then shed their leaves when it becomes dry and hot again. Such plants are called drought deciduous. These kinds of plants carry out photosynthesis only during the moist periods.