Redistribution of soil water by lateral roots mediated by stem tissues.

Evidence is increasing to suggest that a major activity of roots is to redistribute soil water. Roots in hydraulic contact with soil generally either absorb or lose water, depending on the direction of the gradient in water potential between root and soil. This leads to phenomena such as "hydraulic lift" where dry upper soil layers drive water transfer from deep moist layers to the shallow rhizosphere and, after rain or surface irrigation, an opposite, downward water transfer. These transport processes appear important in environments where rainfall is strongly seasonal (e.g. Mediterranean-type climates). Irrigation can also induce horizontal transfers of water between lateral roots. Compared with transpiration, the magnitudes, pathways, and resistances of these redistribution processes are poorly understood. Field evidence from semi-arid eucalyptus woodlands is presented to show: (i) water is rapidly exchanged among lateral roots following rain events, at rates much faster than previously described for other types of hydraulic redistribution using sap flow methods; (ii) large axial flows moving vertically up or down the stem are associated with the horizontal transfer of water between roots on opposite sides of the stem. It appears that considerable portions of the stem axis become involved in the redistribution of water between lateral roots because of partial sectoring of the xylem around the circumference of these trees.

An improved heat pulse method to measure low and reverse rates of sap flow in woody plants.

The compensation heat pulse method (CHPM) is of limited value for measuring low rates of sap flow in woody plants. Recent application of the CHPM to woody roots has further illustrated some of the constraints of this technique. Here we present an improved heat pulse method, termed the heat ratio method (HRM), to measure low and reverse rates of sap flow in woody plants. The HRM has several important advantages over the CHPM, including improved measurement range and resolution, protocols to correct for physical and thermal errors in sensor deployment, and a simple linear function to describe wound effects. We describe the theory and methodological protocols of the HRM, provide wound correction coefficients, and validate the reliability and accuracy of the technique against gravimetric measurements of transpiration.

Measurement of sap flow in roots of woody plants: a commentary.

Measurements of sap flow in roots have recently been used to study patterns of resource acquisition by woody plants; however, the various thermometric methods employed have yielded disparate findings. These findings may be harmonized by accounting for the phenomenon of reverse sap flow in roots. We suggest that only methods capable of measuring slow and reverse rates of flow and that do not require assumptions of zero flow during the night are applicable to studies with roots. The heat ratio method and the constant power heat balance method fit these criteria, whereas the constant temperature heat balance, compensation heat pulse and thermal dissipation methods do not.