Final answer:
The statement is true; plants utilize both active transport, which requires energy, and passive transport, which does not use energy, to transport ions against their concentration gradients through their membranes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that plants use both active and passive transport processes to transport ions against their concentration gradients is true. Active transport involves the use of energy, commonly from ATP, to move substances such as ions against their concentration gradient and may also generate a difference in charge across the membrane. This process requires transport proteins that function as pumps. Primary active transport directly uses ATP to move ions across a membrane, while secondary active transport uses the energy from the movement of one substance down its concentration gradient to fuel the transport of another substance against its gradient.
Passive transport, on the other hand, does not require energy. Examples of passive transport include diffusion, osmosis, and facilitated diffusion, which occur naturally due to the concentration gradients between two regions. Ions and other solutes can move from an area of higher concentration to one of lower concentration through membrane channels or by coupling with the movement of another ion, as is the case with coupled ion transport.