Kidron, Giora J. ， Kronenfeld, Rafael ， Beysens, Daniel
2026-08-15 AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY 2026 387(卷), null(期), (null页)
Beyond rain and snow, atmospheric vapor constitutes an important water source in desert ecosystems, occurring as dew, fog, high-humidity vapor and also as distillation. Dew originates from atmospheric vapor, whereas distillation results from temperature-driven vapor fluxes emerging from wet soil. Although often grouped under the term 'dew', these two processes differ fundamentally in their physical origin and ecological implications. Dew derives from primary atmospheric vapor and may represent an additional water input, while distillation involves secondary vapor recycled from the soil and therefore cannot be considered a non-rainfall water source with hydrological contribution, even though it may play a significant ecological role. Physically-based considerations, including vapor flux mechanisms, modeling results compared with experimental data, and their ecological consequences, clearly support the need to distinguish dew from distillation. Consequently, we argue against the use of ambiguous terms such as 'dewfall' and 'dewrise' and advocate for a clear, process-based terminology.