Abstract

Forest canopy processes such as seasonal foliar phenology, interannual changes in photosynthetic activity, and leaf area index in tropical seasonal forests are linked with changes in associated processes such as transpiration and are often responses to changes in availability of soil and groundwater (Iturbe and Porporato 2004). Furthermore, there is now clear evidence that trees may redistribute moisture through hydraulic redistribution both laterally and vertically in the soil profile from relatively higher soil moisture potential sites to sites with lower soil water potential (Neumann et al. 2012).