Hydraulic Redistribution

Hydraulic redistribution is the passive movement of water via roots from regions of wetter soil to regions of dryer soil. While the phenomenon has been the subject of numerous papers and recent reviews (Caldwell et al. 1998; Horton and Hart 1998; Jackson et al. 2000), it is absent or minimally discussed in recent textbooks on plant ecology, physiology, ecophysiology and soil water processes (e.g., Larcher 1995; Marshall et al. 1996; Hillel and Hillel 1998; Lambers et al. 1998; Fitter and Hay 2002; Gurevitch et al. 2002; Taiz and Ziegler 2002). Minimal consideration of hydraulic redistribution as an important process is due in part to the relatively recent discovery of its occurrence in the field and to a lack of a full understanding of the ecological consequences and significance of this water movement. In the past few years, however, more has been learned about hydraulic redistribution and its importance to plants and movements of water in the soil. In this review, the ecological consequences of this phenomenon will be examined to the extent of current understanding.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Forest Range, and Wildlife Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 84322-5230, USA Ronald J. Ryel

1. Ronald J. Ryel