Hydraulic redistribution is a passive mechanism where water is transported from moist to dry soils via subterranean networks.
[2] Since then it was found that vascular plants are assisted by fungal networks which grow on the root system to promote water redistribution.
In drought conditions, ground water is drawn up through the taproot to the laterals and exuded into the surface soil, replenishing that which was lost.
[2] Then after studies in the 2000s, a more comprehensive word was taken into consideration where it described a bi-directional and passive movement exhibited by the plant roots and further assisted by mycorrhizal networks.
[2][3][14] A 2015 study then described a "direct transfer of hydraulically redistributed water" between the host and fungi into the surrounding root system.
Traditional methods of observating hydraulic redistribution include Deuterium isotope traces,[7][9][12][17] sap flow,[8][11][18][19] and soil moisture.
[6][9] In attempts to characterize the magnitude of the water redistributed, numerous models (both empirically and theoretically based) have been developed.