Alternative Terms for Describing Soil Water Potential
Alternative Terms for Describing Soil Water Potential
| Total soil-water potential | Total head | Sum of gravitational potential and matric potential |
| Gravitational potential | Gravitational head | Positive if elevation of point of interest is above reference level. |
| Matric potential | Pressure head or Tension | Positive if soil is saturated; negative if soil is not saturated. |
| Matric potential | Suction | Suction is the negative of the matric potential. It is sometimes used to eliminate the need for negative numbers in unsaturated soils. |
