Principles of Soil and Plant Water Relations

Principles of Soil and Plant Water Relations combines biology and physics to show how water moves through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. This text explores the instrumentation and the methods used to measure the status of water in soil and plants. Principles are clearly presented with the aid of diagrams, anatomical figures, and images of instrumentation. The methods on instrumentation can be used by researchers, consultants, and the military to monitor soil degradation, including measurements of soil compaction, repellency, oxygen diffusion rate, and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Intended for graduate students in plant and soil science programs, this book also serves as a useful reference for agronomists, plant ecologists, and agricultural engineers. * Principles are presented in an easy-to-understand style * Heavily illustrated with more than 200 figures; diagrams are professionally drawn * Anatomical figures show root, stem, leaf, and stomata * Figures of instruments show how they work * Book is carefully referenced, giving sources for all information * Struggles and accomplishments of scientists who developed the theories are given in short biographies.