cavitation

If the suction force drawing water from root to shoot through the xylem exceeds the tensile strength of the water column in any one vascular element (especially when plant water deficit is sufficiently severe) the column snaps, or cavitates, when the water and dissolved air vaporize locally to create a bubble.



This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
Read the preface. Order the book.



Previous term | Next term