moisturetolerant

Moisture-tolerant is an adjective used in biology, ecology, and related fields to describe an organism, ecosystem, or material that can survive or function in moist or humid conditions. The standard form is moisture-tolerant; the concatenated variant moisturetolerant may appear in some databases or informal writing.

In biological contexts, moisture tolerance refers to the ability to withstand high ambient moisture, waterlogged soils, or frequent wetting without requiring constant moisture to survive. It is distinct from xerotolerance, which denotes dryness tolerance. Moisture-tolerant organisms include many fungi and bacteria that colonize damp environments, as well as aquatic or semi-aquatic plants and certain algae. These organisms often cope with high humidity through mechanisms such as biofilm formation, accumulation of compatible solutes, or robust cell envelopes. In plants, moisture-tolerant species are commonly found in wetlands, riparian zones, or other areas with regular or seasonal saturation and may tolerate periodic submergence.

Measuring moisture tolerance typically involves exposing organisms to varying levels of relative humidity, water activity, or soil moisture and observing survival, growth, or reproduction. In materials science, moisture tolerance describes resistance to degradation, swelling, or mold growth under damp conditions. Across ecosystems, moisture tolerance influences geographic distribution, community composition, and ecological resilience, especially under climate scenarios that shift humidity and precipitation patterns.

Notes: the term underscores adaptation to moist environments and is used in research, field guides, and product specifications. It is often paired with related concepts such as xerotolerance (dryness tolerance) and hydrophilicity to describe organism- or material-level responses to humidity.