Plant biotechnology offers important opportunities for agriculture, horticulture, and the pharmaceutical and food industry by generating transgenic varieties with altered properties. This is likely to change farming practice and reduce the potential negative impact of plant production on the environment. This volume shows the worldwide advances and potential benefits of plant genetic engineering focusing on the third millennium.
The authors discuss the production of transgenic plants resistant to biotic and abiotic stress, the improvement of plant qualities, the use of transgenic plants as bioreactors, and the use of plant genomics for genetic improvement and gene cloning. Unique to this book is the integrative point of view taken between plant genetic engineering and socioeconomic and environmental issues. Considerations of regulatory processes to release genetically modified plants, as well as the public acceptance of the transgenic plants are also discussed.
This book will be welcomed by biotechnologists, researchers and students alike working in the biological sciences. It should also prove useful to everyone dedicated to the study of the socioeconomic and environmental impact of the new technologies, while providing recent scientific information on the progress and perspectives of the production of genetically modified plants.

The work is dedicated to Professor Marc van Montagu.

Rather than simply cataloging the various interpretations of European regulations by Member States, this international team examines the economic priorities, the legal bases, the social norms and cultural patterns which come into play, presenting an analytical approach to the study of production rights in European agriculture.

This work traces the emergence and the economic and legal content of the different income support tools for agricultural producers, collectively termed 'production rights' and it looks at the foundations of the specific national conceptions underlying the methods of organising agricultural activity.

The book is intended for a varied readership: farmers themselves, of course, but also economic, legal and tax consultants, experts, lawyers, notaries, as well as students, teachers and researchers. It has been set out in such a way as to allow readers to move freely from one subject to another, depending on whether their interest lies in economic aspects or legal developments, or whether they are more concerned by certain production rights or by certain features of their own organisation.

The goal of the book is to enable the reader to grasp the special features and the significance of the forces which have shaped the current income support instruments for producers in the various Member States of the EU, and which will unquestionably continue to influence the measures which flow from reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy in the years to come.

Lead Molecules from Natural Products: Discovery and New Trends provides the reader with a thorough overview of current discoveries and trends in Natural Products research.
This book consists of 22 chapters from well known scientists all over the world, with topics ranging from Natural Product Chemistry and Phytochemistry in their most basic form, to Molecular Biology and "in silico" drug design. Contributors describe their own laboratory experiences, revealing their findings, the legal issues encountered.
The chapters, all of equally high quality, summarize years of extensive research in each area, and provide insight in the new themes of natural product research. The information will help to predict promising leads, useful for physicians in the treatment of different diseases and disease manifestations.
* Explains the effects of plant extracts on gene expression profiling.
* Details medicinal plant research from around the world
* Explores a variety of medicinal uses of plants from traditional remedies, to anti-cancer agents and anti-salmonella agents.

Bamboos constitute one of a few select categories of plants which are taxonomically related, very rich in species and of vital economic and ecological importance. Since the early 20th century the accepted number of species of bamboos, world wide, has tripled. However, until now information was scattered through numerous, often not easily available publications.

"The Bamboos of the World," is the first comprehensive (taxonomic as well as horticultural) reference work that provides basic information on bamboos world wide, whether they are wild or cultivated, well-known or rather unknown. The work, based on bamboo literature, facilitates access to further data by citation and a comprehensive bibliography. Among the main data included are botanical names with synonyms, and geographical distribution of genera and species, varieties with their distinctive characters, common bamboo names, plant introductions to the West, plant size and uses. The distribution of genera is mapped.

"The Bamboos of the World" presents a wealth of essential information in an accessible and structured manner. It gives the opportunity to check under what names, and where, relevant information on any bamboo can be found. For the researcher with management and development interests it provides a convenient means of basing bamboo resource on a sound understanding of generic and species relationships, with names that appear in earlier literature put into context. The work should prove to be invaluable for those interested in the morphology, taxonomy, distribution and cultivation of bamboos. It should support botanical, forestry, horticultural and ecological research, training and resource management.

Turmeric has been used as a medicine, a condiment, and a dye since at least 600 B.C., while ginger has been used extensively throughout history for its medicinal purposes. "The Agronomy and Economy of Turmeric and Ginger" brings these two important plants together in one reference book, explaining their history, production techniques, and nutritional and medicinal properties in detail.

This book is intuitively organized by plant and use, allowing quick access to information. It puts the uniquely Indian use and history of turmeric and ginger plants into a global context of production and economic aspects. It explores the plants from a botanical perspective, and goes into details of their chemical composition as well. Rounding out the book are chapters on disease and pest control issues.

The book is a valuable resource for those involved in the production and marketing of these plants, as well as those looking for more information on the medicinal and nutritional properties of turmeric and ginger.
The first book to bring together extensive information about turmeric and gingerIncorporates medicinal, nutritional and agricultural aspects of the two plantsOffers a global perspective

Collaboratively written by top international experts and established scientists in various fields of agricultural research, this book focuses on the state of food production and sustainability; the problems with degradation of valuable sources of land, water, and air and their effects on food crops;the increasing demand of food resources; and the challenges of food security worldwide. The book provides cutting edge scientific tools and methods of research as well as solid background information that is accessible for those who have a strong interest in agricultural research and development and want to learn more on the challenges facing the global agricultural production systems.
Provides cutting edge scientific tools and available technologies for researchAddresses the effects of climate change and the population explosion on food supply and offers solutions to combat themWritten by a range of experts covering a broad range of agriculture-related disciplines"

Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems. Agroecological economics, a subsection of agricultural economics, evaluates the ecological consequences of agricultural methods on the economic scale. Agroecological economics considers green engineering as a means of measurement.
As the environmental movement unfolds, the importance of biodiversity and long-term sustainability are indisputable. Progress depends on determining the economic viability of terrestrial agroecosystems. What is lacking is the analysis needed to bring biodiverse and sustainable systems to fruition. Agroecological Economics analyzes the current topics that must be addressed in order to provide sustainable agricultural systems. It explains the economics of land-use ecology with emphasis on changing over from a conventional model of agriculture to environmentally- and ecologically-friendly models and the financial incentives that are important to these practices.
* Analyzes agricultural solutions with economic testing
* Includes a complete analysis of recent biodiversity-based research with valuable new economic methodologies
* Provides various applications to mitigate the problems which have economic and ecological effects on agroecosystems
* Offers applications of ecologically-sound land-use practices in production and manufacturing

This comprehensive book describes cork as a natural product, as an industrial raw-materials, and as a wine bottle closure. From its formation in the outer bark of the cork oak tree to the properties that are of relevance to its use, cork is presented and explained including its physical and mechanical properties.
The industrial processing of cork from post-harvest procedures to the production of cork agglomerates and composites is described.
Intended as a reference book, this is the ideal compilation of scientific knowledge on state-of-the-art cork production and use
Key Features:
*Presents comprehensive coverage from cork formation to post-harvest procedures
*Explains the physical properties, mechanical properties and quality of cork
*Addresses topics of interest for those in food science, agriculture and forestry

This 33-chapter volume presents a critical examination of the importance of stable isotopes in understanding key plant metabolic processes.
Key Features
* Carbon isotope analyses for estimates of plant water use and metabolism
* Integrated estimates of stress impacts and life history in ecological systems
* Hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses for evaluating water sources and transpiration
* Use of stable isotopes in scaling from leaf to global levels
* Sections include:
* History and Theoretical Considerations
* Ecological Aspects of Carbon Isotope Variation
* Agricultural Aspects of Carbon Isotope Variation
* Genetics and Isotopic Variation
* Water Relations and Isotopic Composition

This book presents a whole-plant perspective on plant integrated responses to multiple stresses, including an analysis of how plants have evolved growth forms and phenological responses to cope with changing stress patterns in natural environments.
Key Features
* Explores stress responses at both the structural and process levels
* Outlines structural, phenological, and physiological responses that optimize production under multiple stresses
* Combines physiological and evolutionary perspectives