Trends in Plant Science, Volume 5, Issue 11, 1 November 2000,
Pages 482-488 Robert B. Jackson, John S. Sperry and Todd E.
Dawson Plant water loss, regulated by stomata and driven by
atmospheric demand, cannot exceed the maximum steady-state
supply through roots. Just as an electric circuit breaks when
carrying excess current, the soil–plant continuum breaks if
forced to transport water beyond its capacity. Exciting new
molecular, biophysical and ecological research suggests that
roots are the weakest link along this hydraulic flow path. We
attempt here to predict rooting depth and water uptake using the
hydraulic properties of plants and the soil, and also to suggest
how new physiological tools might contribute to larger-scale
studies of hydraulic lift, the water balance and
biosphere–atmosphere interactions. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
(1089 kb) Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 13, Issue 6, 1
June 1998, Pages 232-235 Jonathan L Horton and Stephen C Hart
Hydraulic lift is the process by which some deep-ro