A one‐dimensional extraction‐term model is used to simulate the moisture flow and removal process in the vicinity of plant roots. The dependence of model results on root depth and soil type are investigated. Moisture contents, root moisture absorption rates and soil moisture fluxes are computed and discussed for several hypothetical root systems in a sandy soil and in a clay soil. The model is solved numerically with a procedure based on the Douglas‐Jones predictor‐corrector method. Results indicate that moisture extraction by the roots from soil in their immediate vicinity is the dominant process, with Darcian flow in the root zone playing a smaller but often significant role. Extraction‐term models are versatile and seem able to describe many of the phenomena associated with moisture removal by the roots of transpiring plants.
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Molz et al. (1971) studied this question.