Term (tension = tension of gases and vapours, pressure) for a device for measuring soil moisture using suction tension or soil water tension (energy ratios in pore water). The drier a soil, the greater the potential of adsorption (ability of solids to attract and accumulate gases or dissolved particles on their surface) and capillary forces (force that makes liquids rise upwards against gravity; in plants this takes place in the fine tubes in the conductive tissue) that bind the water in the soil. In agriculture and horticulture, tensiometers are used in the automation of irrigation systems. The amount of water can be controlled so that the plants are optimally supplied with water without water and nutrients being washed out into the subsoil.
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“