Abstract

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.
Key Features
* 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
"Given the importance of water for the growth and function of plants the book will certainly have a wide distribution among students, teachers, and investigators in basic and applied science. The authors' long experience in research and teaching obviously helped them to describe sometimes also difficult facts in an understandable way without oversimplification. Each chapter is written as a lecture of its own and therefore it is not only informative but also a real pleasure to read this book."
--JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY