Water potential
potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions; the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and matrix effects
Water potential is the potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions. Water potential quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and matrix effects such as capillary action (which is caused by surface tension). The concept of water potential has proved useful in understanding and computing water movement within plants, animals, and soil. Water potential is typically expressed in potential energy per unit volume and very often is represented by the Greek letter ψ.
Water potential integrates a variety of different potential drivers of water movement, which may operate in the same or different directions. Within complex biological systems, many potential factors may be operating simultaneously. For example, the addition of solutes lowers the potential (negative vector), while an increase in pressure increases the potential (positive vector). If the flow is not restricted, water will move from an area of higher water potential to an area that is lower potential. A common example is water with dissolved salts, such as seawater or the fluid in a living cell. These solutions have negative water potential, relative to the pure water reference.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Water potential” as potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions; the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and matrix effects. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions; the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and matrix effects. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q473195. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Water potential” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.