Much of this retained water can be used by plants and other organisms, also contributing to land productivity and soil health.
[2] Available water is that which the plants can utilize from the soil within the range between field capacity and wilting point.
The role of soil water retention is profound; its effects are far reaching and relationships are invariably complex.
It provides an ongoing supply of water to plants between periods of replenishment (infiltration), so as to allow their continued growth and survival.
For example, over much of temperate Victoria, Australia, this effect is seasonal and even inter-annual; the retained soil water that has accumulated in preceding wet winters permits survival of most perennial plants over typically dry summers when monthly evaporation exceeds rainfall.