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	<journal>
		<journal_title>Hydrology and Earth System Sciences</journal_title>
		<journal_url>www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net</journal_url>
		<issn>1027-5606</issn>
		<eissn>1607-7938</eissn>
		<volume_number>13</volume_number>
		<issue_number>7</issue_number>
		<publication_year>2009</publication_year>
	</journal>
	<doi>10.5194/hess-13-1299-2009</doi>
	<article_url>http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1299/2009/</article_url>
	<abstract_html>http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1299/2009/hess-13-1299-2009.html</abstract_html>
	<fulltext_pdf>http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/1299/2009/hess-13-1299-2009.pdf</fulltext_pdf>
	<start_page>1299</start_page>
	<end_page>1305</end_page>
	<publication_date>2009-07-24</publication_date>
	<article_title content_type="html">Comment on &quot;Biotic pump of atmospheric moisture as driver of the hydrological  cycle on land&quot; by A. M. Makarieva and V. G. Gorshkov, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 1013&amp;ndash;1033, 2007</article_title>
	<authors>
		<author numeration="1" affiliations="1">
			<name>A. G. C. A. Meesters</name>
		</author>
		<author numeration="2" affiliations="1">
			<name>A. J. Dolman</name>
		</author>
		<author numeration="3" affiliations="1">
			<name>L. A. Bruijnzeel</name>
		</author>
	</authors>
	<affiliations>
		<affiliation numeration="1" content_type="html">Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands</affiliation>
	</affiliations>
	<abstract content_type="html">In their paper &quot;Biotic pump of atmospheric moisture as driver of
      the hydrological cycle on land&quot;, Makarieva and Gorshkov (Hydrol. Earth
      Syst. Sci., 11, 1013–1033, 2007) derive from &quot;previously
      unstudied&quot; properties of atmospheric water vapor, the existence of
      a hitherto unknown &quot;evaporative force&quot;. From this, a novel
      physical principle is deduced, according to which low-level air flows
      from regions with weak, to regions with strong evaporation. As such,
      natural forests are claimed to &quot;suck in&quot; moist air from the ocean,
      a process labeled the &quot;biotic pump of atmospheric moisture&quot;.
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
      This commentary focuses on the physical foundations of the Biotic Pump
      Theory (BPT). It is shown that the &quot;evaporative force&quot; on which the
      theory is built, is not supported by basic physical principles. The problem
      of moisture transport and its dependence on vegetation cover considered by
      Makarieva and Gorshkov is certainly important, but cannot be solved
      along the lines proposed by them.</abstract>
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</article>
