Water Relations of Plants and Soils [Hardcover]

Water Relations of Plants and Soils, successor to the seminal 1983 book by Paul Kramer, covers the entire field of water relations using current concepts and consistent terminology. Emphasis is on the interdependence of processes, including rate of water absorption, rate of transpiration, resistance to water flow into roots, soil factors affecting water availability. New trends in the field, such as the consideration of roots (rather than leaves) as the primary sensors of water stress, are examined in detail.

• Addresses the role of water in the whole range of plant activities
• Describes molecular mechanisms of water action in the context of whole plants
• Synthesizes recent scientific findings
• Relates current concepts to agriculture and ecology
• Provides a summary of methods

Preface.
Historical Review.
Functions and Properties of Water.
Cell Water Relations.
Soil and Water.
Roots and Root Systems.
The Absorption of Water and Root and Stem Pressures.
Transpiration and the Ascent of Sap.
Stomata and Gas Exchange.
Ion Transport and Nitrogen Metabolism.
Photosynthesis and Respiration.
Growth.
Evolution and Agricultural Water Use.
Chapter Summaries.
Chapter References.
Subject Index.

Plants use large amounts of water in the growth process, with important consequences for agriculture and the distribution of plant communities. Water is involved in nearly every aspect of plant activity, ranging from the transport of mineral nutrients and metabolites to growth, metabolism, and gene action. Water Relations of Plants and Soils discusses the properties of water, cell water relations, and soil water and the ways water moves and affects root activities, transpiration, lÇ