If soil is wet but the air is saturated, why will evaporation be limited?

Correct answer: Because air has little capacity to accept extra vapour

Correct answer: A. Evaporation is the escape of liquid water molecules into the air. Wet soil supplies water, but evaporation also depends on the atmosphere’s ability to receive additional vapour. Saturated air already contains approximately the maximum vapour amount it can hold at its current temperature. Therefore, the vapour-pressure difference between the wet surface and the air is small, and the net rate of evaporation becomes limited. Wind or mixing may remove saturated air and allow some additional evaporation, but under otherwise similar conditions the saturated atmosphere strongly reduces evaporation. B is false because wet soil does contain water. C reverses the meaning of saturation; saturated air is moist, not dry. D is false because atmospheric conditions, especially humidity and wind, strongly affect evaporation. Memory cue: evaporation needs both a water supply and room in the air for more vapour.