during winter's freezing temperatures, some plants can remove water from their cells to reduce the amount of water that will freeze inside them. why would plants need to do this? the frozen water would constrict the organelles and prevent the cell from undergoing metabolic processes. as the water contracts during freezing, the cells would pull away from each other, causing damage. less water in the cells means the cells are smaller and need to do less work. the expansion of excess water as it turns to ice inside the cells would break the cells apart.