Knowledge of water movement in the plant-xylem system and contaminant bioavailability in the soil environment is crucial to evaluate the success of phytoremediation practices. This study investigated the removal of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) from a contaminated sandy soil by a single poplar (Populus fastigiata) tree through the examinations of temporal variations of xylem water potential, root...

Water restriction impaired sperm production in deer mice, a seasonally breeding mammal that encounters aperiodic droughts in its natural habitat throughout North America. Water-induced spermatogenic responses were sorted into three categories based upon epididymal sperm numbers: aspermic, oligospermic, and euspermic. Average gonadal mass was reduced after 10 wk of limited water consumption. Int...

The combined effects of vegetation and climate change on biosphere-atmosphere water vapor (H2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO2 ) exchanges are expected to vary depending, in part, on how biotic activity is controlled by and alters water availability. This is particularly important when a change in ecosystem composition alters the fractional covers of bare soil, grass, and woody plants so as to influe...