Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hydraulic lift: processes, methods, and practical implications for society

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soil water is an essential factor in soil–water–plant studies and larger-scale hydrological investigations. It is considered more critical than other factors that limit plant growth and also affects many fundamental biophysical processes. New strategies are needed to overcome drought and to maintain environmental sustainability. Hydraulic lift (HL) or hydraulic redistribution (HR) processes are one of these strategies found in soil–plant systems, but their effects on crop production and the environment have not been well documented. This article reviews (1) the process of HL, (2) methods showing evidence of HL using soil water potential (Ψs) and sap flow techniques, (3) hydraulically-lifting plants, and (4) practical implications for society. The HL is whereby soil water may be transported upward by deep roots of trees and grasses from the moist region (subsurface) to dry region (surface) at night. Thus, HL provides water to areas planted to shallow rooted plants at the upper soil layers. The HL of water by roots from wet to dry soil layers is a potential approach for better use of water resources for crop/grass growth. Also, increases in soil water by HL improve root growth and function which include soil carbon decomposition or nutrient mineralization rates, and this can probably be associated in nutrient cycling. Another benefit is that mycorrhizal fungi play a relevant role in HL and in the redistribution of this water among plants. Thus, HL provides many soil, agricultural, and environmental benefits.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

modified from Richards and Caldwell 1987)

Fig. 3

modified from Prieto et al. 2010a)

Fig. 4

modified from Dawson 1993)

Fig. 5
Fig. 6

modified from Wan et al. 2000)

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.

Abbreviations

HL:

Hydraulic lift

HR:

Hydraulic redistribution

SWC:

Soil water content

Ψs:

Soil water potential

References

  • Al-Kaisi M, Taylor SE, Elmore RW (2012) Soil moisture conditions and crop water use. Integrated Crop Management News 218. Iowa State University, Ames. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cropnews/218

  • Allen MF (2007) Mycorrhizal fungi: highways for water and nutrients in arid soils. Vadose Zone J 6:291–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armas C, Padilla FM, Pugnaire FI, Jackson RB (2010) Hydraulic lift and tolerance to salinity of semiarid species: consequences for species interactions. Oecologia 162:11–21

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker JM, Van Bavel CHM (1986) Resistance of plant roots to water loss. Agron J 78:641–644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker JM, Van Bavel CHM (1987) Measurement of mass flow of water in the stems of herbaceous plants. Plant Cell Environ 10:777–782

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker JM, Van Bavel CHM (1988) Water transfer through cotton plants connecting soil regions of differing water potential. Agron J 80:993–997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bethenod O, Katerji N, Goujet R, Bertolini JM, Rana G (2000) Determination and validation of corn crop transpiration by sap flow measurement under field conditions. Theor Appl Climatol 67:153–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayala J, Heng LK, Van Noordwijk M, Ouedraogo SJ (2008) Hydraulic redistribution study in two native tree species of agroforestry parklands of West African dry savanna. Acta Oecol 34:370–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayala J, Prieto I (2020) Water acquisition, sharing and redistribution by roots: applications to agroforestry systems. Plant Soil 453:17–28

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks JR, Meinzer FC, Coulombe R (2002) Hydraulic redistribution of soil water during summer drought in two contrasting Pacific Northwest coniferous forests. Tree Physiol 22:1107–1117

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess SS, Adams MA, Turner NC, Ong CK (1998) The redistribution of soil water by tree root systems. Oecologia 115:306–311

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess SS, Adams MA, Bleby TM (2000) Measurement of sap flow in roots of woody plants: a commentary. Tree Physiol 20:909–913

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess SS (2011) Can hydraulic redistribution put bread on our table? Plant Soil 341:25–29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell MM, Richards JH (1989) Hydraulic lift: water efflux from upper roots improves effectiveness of water uptake by deep roots. Oecologia 79:1–5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell MM (1990) Water parasitism stemming from hydraulic lift: a quantitative test in the field. Isr J Plant Sci 39:395–402

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell MM, Dawson TE, Richards JH (1998) Hydraulic lift: consequences of water efflux from the roots of plants. Oecologia 113:151–161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corak SJ, Blevins DG, Pallardy SG (1987) Water transfer in an alfalfa/maize association: survival of maize during drought. Plant Physiol 84:582–586

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson TE (1993) Hydraulic lift and water use by plants: implications for water balance, performance, and plant-plant interactions. Oecologia 95:565–574

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson TE (1996) Determining water use by trees and forests from isotopic, energy balance, and transpiration analyses: the roles of tree size and hydraulic lift. Tree Physiol 16:263–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Desa U (2009) World population prospects: the 2008 revision. Department for Economic and Social Affairs, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dugas WA (1990) Comparative measurement of stem flow and transpiration in cotton. Theor Appl Climatol 42:215–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egerton-Warburton LM, Querejeta JI, Allen MF (2007) Common mycorrhizal networks provide a potential pathway for the transfer of hydraulically lifted water between plants. J Exp Bot 58:1473–1483

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emerman SH, Dawson TE (1996) Hydraulic lift and its influence on the water content of the rhizosphere: an example from sugar maple, Acer saccharum. Oecologia 108:273–278

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Espeleta JF, West JB, Donovan LA (2004) Species-specific patterns of hydraulic lift in co-occurring adult trees and grasses in a sandhill community. Oecologia 138:341–349

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández JE, Moreno F (1999) Water use by the olive tree. J Crop Prod 2:101–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Filella I, Penuelas J (2003) Indications of hydraulic lift by Pinus halepensis and its effects on the water relations of neighbor shrubs. Biol Plant 47:209–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu S, Sun L, Luo Y (2016) Combining sap flow measurements and modeling to assess water needs in an oasis farmland shelterbelt of Populus simonii Carr in Northwest China. Agric Water Manag 177:172–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerjets R, Richter F, Jansen M, Carminati A (2017) Soil hydrology of agroforestry systems: Competition for water or positive tree-crops interactions? In: EGU general assembly conference abstracts, vol 19, p 6683

  • Glenn DM, Welker WV (1993) Water transfer diminishes root competition between peach and tall fescue. J Am Soc Hort Sci 118:570–574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godfray HCJ, Beddington JR, Crute IR, Haddad L, Lawrence D, Muir JF, Pretty J, Robinson S, Thomas SM, Toulmin C (2010) Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people. Science 327:812–818

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Han Y, Feng G, Ouyang Y (2018) Effects of soil and water conservation practices on runoff, sediment and nutrient losses. Water 10:1333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen EA, Dickson RE (1979) Water and mineral nutrient transfer between root systems of juvenile Populus. For Sci 25:247–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirota I, Sakuratani T, Sato T, Higuchi H, Nawata E (2004) A split-root apparatus for examining the effects of hydraulic lift by trees on the water status of neighboring crops. Agrofor Sys 60:181–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins WG, Hiiner NPA (2009) Introduction to plant physiology. Library of Congress Cataloging, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Horton JL, Hart SC (1998) Hydraulic lift: a potentially important ecosystem process. Trends Ecol Evol 13:232–235

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hultine KR, Scott RL, Cable WL, Goodrich DC, Williams DG (2004) Hydraulic redistribution by a dominant, warm-desert phreatophyte: seasonal patterns and response to precipitation pulses. Funct Ecol 18:530–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa CM, Bledsoe CS (2000) Seasonal and diurnal patterns of soil water potential in the rhizosphere of blue oaks: evidence for hydraulic lift. Oecologia 125:459–465

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RB, Sperry JS, Dawson TE (2000) Root water uptake and transport: using physiological processes in global predictions. Trends Plant Sci 5:482–488

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Anderson SH, Udawatta RP, Kallenbach RL (2012) Water infiltration influenced by agroforestry and grass buffers for a grazed pasture system. Agrofor Sys 84:325–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurz-Besson C, Otieno D, Do Vale RL, Siegwolf R, Schmidt M, Herd A, Nogueira C, David TS, David JS, Tenhunen J, Pereira JS (2006) Hydraulic lift in cork oak trees in a savannah-type Mediterranean ecosystem and its contribution to the local water balance. Plant Soil 282:361–378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laraus J (2004) The problems of sustainable water use in the Mediterranean and research requirements for agriculture. Ann Appl Biol 144:259–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leffler AJ, Peek MS, Ryel RJ, Ivans CY, Caldwell MM (2005) Hydraulic redistribution through the root systems of senesced plants. J Ecol 86:633–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehto T, Zwiazek J (2011) Ectomycorrhizas and water relations of trees: a review. Mycorrhiza 21:71–90

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin BB (2010) The role of agroforestry in reducing water loss through soil evaporation and crop transpiration in coffee agroecosystems. Agric For Meteorol 150:510–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liste HH, White JC (2008) Plant hydraulic lift of soil water-implications for crop production and land restoration. Plant Soil 313:1–17

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lott JE, Khan AAH, Ong CK, Black CR (1996) Sap flow measurements of lateral tree roots in agroforestry systems. Tree Physiol 16:995–1001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig F, Dawson TE, Kroon H, Brendse F, Prins HHT (2003) Hydraulic lift in Acacia tortilis trees on an East African savanna. Oecologia 134:293–300

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Magdoff FR, Van Es HM (2009) Building soils for better crops: sustainable soil management. Waldorf, Maryland

    Google Scholar 

  • McCulley RL, Jobbágy EG, Pockman WT, Jackson RB (2004) Nutrient uptake as a contributing explanation for deep rooting in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Oecologia 141:620–628

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin D, Kinzelbach W (2015) Food security and sustainable resource management. Water Resour Res 51:4966–4985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mittal A (2009) The 2008 food price crisis: rethinking food security policies. UN

  • Nair PR (1993) An introduction to agroforestry. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Neumann RB, Cardon ZG (2012) The magnitude of hydraulic redistribution by plant roots: a review and synthesis of empirical and modeling studies. New Phytol 194:337–352

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nicolas E, Torrecillas A, Ortuño MF, Domingo R, Alarcón JJ (2005) Evaluation of transpiration in adult apricot trees from sap flow measurements. Agric Water Manag 72:131–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novák V, Hlaváčiková H (2019) Applied soil hydrology: theory and applications of transport in porous media. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, New York City

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ofori E, Oteng-Darko P, Berchie JN, Nimako FO, Yeboah S, Danquah EO (2014) Monitoring of soil moisture regime and water use efficiency under maize cowpea cropping system. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci 3:837–848

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Keefe K, Nippert JB (2017) An assessment of diurnal water uptake in a mesic prairie: evidence for hydraulic lift? Oecologia 183:963–975

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paltineanu IC, Starr JL (1997) Real-time soil water dynamics using multisensory capacitance probes: laboratory calibration. Soil Sci Soc Am J 61:1576–1585

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips JG, Riha SJ (1994) Root growth, water uptake, and canopy development in Eucalyptus viminalis seedlings. Aust J Plant Physiol 21:69–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Prieto I, Martínez-Tillería K, Martínez-Manchego L, Montecinos S, Pugnaire FI, Squeo FA (2010a) Hydraulic lift through transpiration suppression in shrubs from two arid ecosystems: patterns and control mechanisms. Oecologia 163:855–865

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prieto I, Kikvidze Z, Pugnaire FI (2010b) Hydraulic lift: soil processes and transpiration in the Mediterranean leguminous shrub Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss. Plant Soil 329:447–456

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prieto I, Armas C, Pugnaire FI (2012) Water release through plant roots: new insights into its consequences at the plant and ecosystem level. New Phytol 193:830–841

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Querejeta JI, Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen MF (2003) Direct nocturnal water transfer from oaks to their mycorrhizal symbionts during severe soil drying. Oecologia 134:55–64

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rao MR, Nair PKR, Ong CK (1998) Biophysical interactions in tropical agroforestry systems. Agrofor Syst 38:3–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards JH, Caldwell MM (1987) Hydraulic lift: substantial nocturnal water transport between soil layers by Artemisia tridentata roots. Oecologia 73:486–489

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson DA, Campbell CS, Hopmans JW, Hornbuckle BK, Jones SB, Knight R, Ogden F, Selker J, Wendroth O (2008) Soil moisture measurement for ecological and hydrological watershed-scale observatories: a review. Vadose Zone J 7:358–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schippers B, Schroth MN, Hildebrand DC (1967) Emanation of water from underground plant parts. Plant Soil 27:81–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholz FG, Bucci SJ, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Franco AC (2002) Hydraulic redistribution of soil water by neotropical savanna trees. Tree Physiol 22:603–612

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sekiya N, Araki H, Yano K (2011) Applying hydraulic lift in an agroecosystem: forage plants with shoots removed supply water to neighboring vegetable crops. Plant Soil 341:39–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seyfried MS, Murdock MD (2001) Response of a new soil water sensor to variable soil, water content, and temperature. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65:28–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shetty S (2006) Water, food security, and agricultural policy in the Middle East and North Africa region. World Bank, Washington

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Susha Lekshmi SU, Singh DN, Baghini MS (2014) A critical review of soil moisture measurement. Measurement 54:92–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Topp GC, Watt M, Hayhoe HN (1996) Point specific measurement and monitoring of soil water content with an emphasis on TDR. Can J Soil Sci 76:307–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Udawatta RP, Krstansky JJ, Henderson GS, Garrett HE (2002) Agroforestry practices, runoff, and nutrient loss. J Environ Qual 31:1214–1225

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wan CG, Sosebee RE, McMichael BL (1993) Does Hydraulic lift exist in shallow-rooted species? a quantitative examination with a half-shrub Gutierrezia sarothrae. Plant Soil 153:11–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan CG, Xu W, Sosebee RE, Machado S, Archer T (2000) Hydraulic lift in drought-tolerant and-susceptible maize hybrids. Plant Soil 219:117–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walvoord MA, Phillips FM, Stonestrom DA, Evans RD, Hartsough PC, Newman BD, Striegl RG (2003) A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils. Science 302:1021–1024

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warren JM, Brooks JR, Meinzer FC, Eberhart JL (2008) Hydraulic redistribution of water from Pinus ponderosa trees to seedlings: evidence for an ectomycorrhizal pathway. New Phytol 178:382–394

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weil RR, Brady NC (2016) The nature and properties of soils. Prentice-Hall Inc, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoder CK, Nowak RS (1999) Hydraulic lift among native plant species in the Mojave Desert. Plant Soil 215:93–102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zou CB, Barnes PW, Archer S, McMurtry CR (2005) Soil moisture redistribution as a mechanism of facilitation in savanna tree–shrub clusters. Oecologia 145:32–40

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Zhao W, Wang L, Liu Y, Liu Y, Feng Q (2018) Relationship between soil water content and soil particle size on typical slopes of the Loess Plateau during a drought year. Sci Total Environ 648:943–954

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Desertification Combat, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

    Salah M. Alagele

  2. School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Shibu Jose, Stephen H. Anderson & Ranjith P. Udawatta

  3. The Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri, 203 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Ranjith P. Udawatta

Authors
  1. Salah M. Alagele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shibu Jose
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stephen H. Anderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ranjith P. Udawatta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Salah M. Alagele.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Alagele, S.M., Jose, S., Anderson, S.H. et al. Hydraulic lift: processes, methods, and practical implications for society. Agroforest Syst 95, 641–657 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00614-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00614-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation