Conifer Cold Hardiness provides an up-to-date synthesis by leading scientists in the study of the major physiological and environmental factors regulating cold hardiness of conifer tree species. This state-of-the-art reference comprehensively explains current understanding of conifer cold hardiness ranging from the gene to the globe and from the highly applied to the very basic. Topics addressed encompass cold hardiness from the perspectives of ecology, ecophysiology, acclimation and deacclimation, seedling production and reforestation, the impacts of biotic and abiotic factors, and methods for studying and analyzing cold hardiness. The content is relevant to geneticists, ecologists, stress physiologists, environmental and global change scientists, pathologists, advanced nursery and silvicultural practitioners, and graduate students involved in plant biology, plant physiology, horticulture and forestry with an interest in cold hardiness.

Large areas of the warm, humid tropics in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa are hilly or mountainous. Jackson and Scherr (1995) estimate that these tropical hillside areas are inhabited by 500 million people, or one-tenth of the current world population, many of whom practice subsistence agriculture. The region most affected is Asia which has the lowest area of arable land per capita. Aside from limited areas of irrigated terraces, most of the sloping land, which constitutes 60% to 90% of the land resources in many Southeast Asian countries, has been by-passed in the economic development of the region (Maglinao and Hashim, 1993). Poverty in these areas is often high, in contrast to the relative wealth of irri gated rice farms in lowland areas that benefited from the green revolution. Rapid population growth in some countries is also exacerbating the problems of hillside areas. Increasingly, people are migrating from high-potential lowland areas where land is scarce to more remote hillside areas. Such migra tion, together with inherent high population growth, is forcing a transforma tion in land use from subsistence to permanent agriculture on fragile slopes, and is creating a new suite of social, economic, and environmental problems (Garrity, 1993; Maglinao and Hashim, 1993)."

Reliability-based design (RBD) procedures for engineered structures are being developed and quickly gaining acceptance by cade agencies throughout the world. Numerous organizations are involved in the development of national or regional cades without the benefit of interchange of ideas and methodologies. Harmonization and coordination of these activities is absolutely essential if the ever-increasing international commerce is to flourish. This NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) was organized to bring together, for the first time, experts on RBD and related subjects from various countries to assess the current knowledge and recommend new developments. Further, due to their unique nature and great economic significance in most parts of the world, special emphasis was placed on engineered wood structures. For example, in North America more wood products are used in construction than ali other materials (steel, concrete, brick, etc.) combined. However, the wood industry segment, historically, receives less attention and smaller financial support for new developments than other construction materials. RBD developments are being conducted in Similar, but largely independent, Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia. Experts from these regions were brought together to exchange information on current work, propose new developments and to provide means of international coordination. Thus, this ARW provided an opportunity to advance the cause of RBD of engineered wood structures.

leading to an overall decrease in the world's forest cover. The forests of Asia, in particular, have been strongly impacted. A number of initiatives have suggested forest policy reforms, and the need for the sustainable management of forests has been widely recognized and encouraged. But because implementation of reforms at the local level has been insufficient, it is imperative that local people begin to effectively participate in forest planning and management as well as in protected-area management. The Forest Conservation Project, launched in April 1998 by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), has carried out research activities on forest strategies, including policy analysis and on-site surveys. This book gives an overview of the project's research activities in its first three-year phase (April1998-March 2001). Since viable forest strategies work best when based on the involvement of local people, this report is addressed to stakeholders in the communities of the relevant countries, including local people and authorities, community-based organizations, experts, national agencies, and international institutions.

The threats posed by air pollution and climate change have resulted in considerable public debate about forest condition and growth during the past two decades. Despite the massive input ofresearch resources, no clear answers have been found to these global questions. Although there have been substantial advances in our knowledge of the effects of air pollutants on the forests, many of the questions associated with forest condition are still open. Monitoring of forest condition at the national level started in Finland in 1985 in accordance with the methodology drawn up by the International Co-operative Programme on Assessments and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests, UN/ECE). Since then, research into forest condition and vitality has been one of the key areas in the research carried out by the Finnish Forest Research Institute. Three basic questions formed the starting point for the multidisciplinary, Forest Condition Research Programme: What changes are taking place in our forests? Why does forest condition vary, and why do trees appear to be suffering? How can forest condition be maintained through appropriate forest management? This report covers forest condition and changes in environmental factors on the of the latest findings, publications and expertise of researchers participated in basis the Forest Condition Research Programme. In addition to researchers from the Finnish Forest Research Institute, a large number of scientists from domestic and foreign universities and research institutes also made a considerable contribution to the research programme.

The increasing con'.;ern for the serious problems of forest decline that occurred in the Northern Hemisphere in the late 1970's and early 1980 's led to an emphasis on the necessity of promoting and setting up investigations into the basic physiological mechanisms of forest trees. Since then, the concern about rapid changes has decreased along with the increase of monitored data on European forests health status. But tree physiology has faced new questions about changing climate and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Advances in plant molecular biology and forest genetics have opened up new avenues in the research on forest tree physiology. At the same, time it has become evident that molecular and genetic tools give only a basis for further research on tree structure and function, which needs basic tree physiology again. On the other hand, the problems of forest decline in Europe are not over. They are no longer discussed daily in the media, but stress is an everyday phenomenon experienced by European forest trees. For instance, in southern Europe and mountainous regions, drought stress and many other abiotic or biotic factors are stressors and cause problems to forests with many important social and protective functions. Stress physiology is a branch of everyday physiology in traditional forestry. How to grow a forest with maximal carbon binding functions and optimal wood quality and rich in biodiversity."

In the course of almost 40 years various researchers, at what used to be TNO's Forest Products Research Institute, currently the TNO Centre for Timber Research, conducted studies into the physical properties of wood. The first studies and calculations were carried out by Mr E. Prochaska, after which Mrs G.M.C. Koning-Vrolijk continued the work. Indeed Mrs Koning-Vrolijk wrote the Institute's first publication (1962), an Eng lish version of which was published in 1963 (3) on the occasion of FAO and IUFRO Conferences held in the United States. Thereafter, the Institute's work was carried on by Mr A. Govers, Mr J.F. Rijsdijk and Mr P.B. Laming. Their research resulted in a second publication (Laming 1978) in which not only the mechanical properties but also the physical properties of 48 wood species were described. During the bulk of this period technical support was provided by Mr J.C. Verwijs and more recently by Mr L. van Brussel. After extensive studies, the Belgian Timber Information Institute also adopted the same research methods as TNO in order to obtain physical data on a number of wood species which were of commercial interest to the Belgian market but which had not been covered in TNO's studies. The Belgian Timber Information Institute's suggestion to include their research results, on a total of 17 wood species in this publication, .was therefore gratefully accepted."

In this comprehensive and stimulating text and reference, the authors have succeeded in combining experimental data with current hypotheses and theories to explain the complex physiological functions of plants. For every student, teacher and researcher in the plant sciences it offers a solid basis for an in-depth understanding of the entire subject area, underpinning up-to-date research in plant physiology. The authors vividly explain current research by references to experiments, they cite original literature in figures and tables, and, at the end of each chapter, list recent references that are relevant for a deeper analysis of the topic. In addition, an abundance of detailed and informative illustrations complement the text.

This book consists of papers presented at a symposium "PLANT-INDUCED SOIL CHANGES: PROCESSES AND FEEDBACKS" that was held during the American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, November 4-8, 1996. The papers were also pub of Biogeochemistry (Vol. 42, nos. 1 and 2, 1998). The lished in a special issue symposium was built on the growing realisation that plant-induced changes in soil feed back in various ways to natural vegetations, giving rise to a plethora of plant-soil interactions beyond the classical one-way cause-and-effect pathways plant-to-soil and soil-to-plant. The aim of this special issue is not in the first place to present new research findings, but to review and discuss the more holistic aspects of plant-soil interactions, providing more room for speculation than do most collections of research papers. After a general introduction which emphasises ecological and evolutionary aspects of plant-soil interac ions (van Breemen and Finzi), three papers deal with particular effects of plants on soil properties: mineralogy (Kelly et al. ), soil structure (Angers and Caron) and soil fertility (Berendse). Next, five papers take up plant-soil interactions in specific biomes: forests (Binkley and Giardina; Gobran et al. ), grasslands (Burke et al.; Epstein et al. ) and deserts (Schlesinger and Pilmanis). Two papers discuss plant-soil interactions via effects of differences in litter quality in specific ecosystems: California's pygmy forest (Northup et al. ) and the Alaskan Taiga (Schimel et al. )."

The quality of human life has been maintained and enhanced for generations by the use of trees and their products. In recent years, ever rising human population growth has put a tremendous pressure on trees and tree products; growing awareness of the potential of previously unexploited tree resources; and environ mental pollution have both accelerated the development of new technologies for tree propagation, breeding and improvement. Biotechnology of trees may be the answer to solve the problems which can not be solved by conventional breeding methods. The combination of biotechnology and conventional methods such as plant propagation and breeding may be a novel approach to improving and multiplying a large number of the trees and woody plants. So far, plant tissue culture technology has largely been exploited by commercial companies in propagation of ornamentals, especially foliage house plants. Gene rally, tissue culture of woody plants has been recalcitrant. However, limited success has been achieved in tissue culture of angiosperm and gymnosperm woody plants. A number of recent reports on somatic embryogenesis in woody plants such as Norway spruce (Picea abies), Loblolly pine (Pinus taedb), Sandalwood (Santalum album), Citrus, mango (Mangifera indica), etc., offer a ray of hope of: a) inexpensive clonal propagation for large-scale production of plants or "emblings" or somatic seedlings; b) protoplast work; c) cryopreservation; d) genetic transformation; and e) synthetic or artificial or manufactured seed production."

Over the past 30 years one alarming trend is the emergence of plant species resistant to agrochemicals (e.g. insecticides, herbicides, fungicides). Considering the fact that these pesticides are crucial to human health and to food, feed and fiber production, impressive research was carried out during the last decade to understand the mechanisms of resistance development. This volume reviews the latest results and examines the implications of these findings for delaying or avoiding resistance in plants to agrochemicals.

International climate change policy can be broadly divided into two periods: A first period, where a broad consensus was reached to tackle the risk of global warming in a coordinated global effort, and a second period, where this consensus was finally framed into a concrete policy. The first period started at the "Earth Summit" of Rio de Janeiro in 1992, where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was opened for signature. The UNFCCC was subsequently signed and ratified by 174 countries, making it one of the most accepted international rd treaties ever. The second period was initiated at the 3 Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the UNFCCC in Kyoto in 1997, which produced the Kyoto Protocol (KP). Till now, eighty-four countries have signed the Kyoto Protocol, but only twelve ratified it. A major reason for this slow ratification is that most operational details of the Kyoto Protocol were not decided in Kyoto but deferred to following conferences. This deferral of the details, while probably appropriate to initially reach an agreement, is a major stepping stone for a speedy ratification of the protocol. National policy makers and their constituencies, who would ultimately bear the cost of Kyoto, are generally not prepared to ratify a treaty that could mean anything, from an unsustainable strict regime of international control of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to an "L-regime" ofloopholes, or from a pure market-based international carbon trading to a regime of huge international carbon tax funds.

The impetus for this book was the desire to systematically organize the extant literature on the conservation of cultural property made of wood, from its beginnings before the Christian Era to the year 2000. Various published reviews and monographs, including Holzkonservierung (Wood Conserva tion) published by the senior author in 1988, have appeared over the years, especially in English and in German. They have provided exemplary treat merit of individual areas or aspects of wood conservation, but a comprehen sive, up-to-date exposition of historic and current developments has been lacking. The diverse professional fields of the authors, as well as their insights into methods of conservation and restoration of wood artifacts in Europe, North America, and Asia provided a solid basis for the success of this under taking. One of the goals during the examination of the literature was that not only well-known conservators and scientists from countries that are leaders in wood conservation should be represented, but that less well-known, often not as readily accessible contributions should also be included. Only in this manner was it possible to draw a comprehensive picture of the national and international state of wood conservation. The Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA) of the Getty Institute were very helpful in our efforts to evaluate as many publications as possible."

Bioenergy from Sustainable Forestry synthesizes information needed to design or implement sustainable forest management systems for production of biomass for energy in conjunction with other forest products. It is organized around the criteria for sustainable forest management: productivity, environment, social issues, economics, and legal and institutional framework. More than 25 international experts from 10 countries have brought together available ecological, physical, operational, social and economic information and identified gaps in knowledge related to biomass production and harvesting systems. This is the first time that such comprehensive information has been brought together under one cover, using an integrated, holistic approach. Guiding principles and state of the art knowledge are emphasized. The book will enable forest resource managers and planners to evaluate the ability of specific forest regions to sustainably meet bioenergy production demands.

Changing environmental conditions substantially affect genetic variation and its dynamics in forest ecosystems and various systems of plantations. In response to these challenges, the present book focuses on the response to stress in terms of case studies which address physiological and genetic characters as well as various metric traits. Furthermore a choice of studies is presented which refers to diversity and geographic variation of various species and site conditions, respectively. In addition, genetic resources are characterised and a variety of studies is compiled which address reproduction and migration as well as management aspects. Finally, a set of studies is presented which focus on forest tree breeding with respect to uncertain climatic futures.

This series ofbooks on the biotechnology of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants provides a survey of the literature focusing on recent information and the state of the art in tissue culture and the in vitro production of secondary metabolites. This book, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants VIII, like the previous seven volumes published in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1994, is unique in its approach. It comprises 26 chapters dealing with the distribution, importance, conventional propagation, micropropagation, tissue culture studies and the in vitro production of important medicinal and pharmaceutical compounds in various species of Achillea, Anethum, Aquilaria, Arnica, Aspergillus, Astragalus, Catalpa, Chelidonium, Eremo phila, Eucalyptus, Eucommia, Geranium, Heterocentron, Hypericum, Maclura, Morinda, Mortierella, Nicotiana, Phaseolus, Pinellia, Piqueria, Psorales, Rhodiola, Sanguisorba, Valeriana, and Vancouveria. This book is tailored to the needs of advanced students, teachers, and research scientists in the field of pharmacy, plant tissue culture, phytochemistry, biochemical engineering, and plant biotechnology in general. New Delhi, July 1995 Professor Y. P. S. BAJAJ Series Editor Contents I Achillea millefolium L. ssp. millefolium (Yarrow): In Vitro Culture and Production of Essential Oils A. C. FIGUEIREDO, M. S. S. PAIS, and J. J. c. SCHEFFER (With 9 Figures) 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 In Vitro Culture Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Ultrastructural Study of the Glandular Trichomes and Cell Suspension Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4 Composition of the Essential Oils of A. millefolium In Vivo and In Vitro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5 Summary and Conc1usion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 6 Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 II Anethum graveolens L."

This book presents the state-of-the-art of forest resources assessments and monitoring. It provides links to practical applications of forest and natural resource assessment programs. It offers an overview of current forest inventory systems and discusses forest mensuration, sampling techniques, remote sensing applications, geographic and forest information systems, and multi-resource forest inventory. Attention is also given to the quantification of non-wood goods and services.

This is a thorough study of photosynthetic mechanisms from cells to leaves, crown, and canopy. The authors question whether photosynthetic adaptations take place primarily at the metabolic and biochemical level or through changes in structure and form, or both. The text goes on to analyze the relative importance of genes that control metabolic and light reactions, and the structure, arrangement, and orientation of photosynthesis.

This book has been developed as a textbook of decision support methods for s- dents and can also serve as a handbook for practical foresters. It is based on the research we have carried out and lectures we have given over the past years. We have set out to present all the methods in enough details and examples that they can be adopted from this book. For researchers who need more details, references are given to more advanced scienti c papers and books. In this book, theories of decision making and the methods used for forestry - cision support are presented. The book covers basics of classical utility theory and its fuzzy counterparts, exact and heuristic optimization method and modern mul- criteria decision support tools such as AHP or ELECTRE. Possibilities of analyzing and dealing with uncertainty are also brie y presented. The use of each method is illustrated with examples. In addition to decision aid methods, we present the basic theory of participatory planning. Both hard and soft methods suitable for partici- tory or group decision analysis are presented, such as problem structuring method and voting. The criticism towards decision theory is also covered. Finally, some real-life examples of the methods are presented. Annika Kangas Department of Forest Resource Management University of Helsinki Jyrki Kangas Metsahallitus ] Mikko Kurttila University of Joensuu v Acknowledgements Manyresearchersandstudentshavehelpedusbyreviewingchapters, suggesting- provements and even checking our example calculations. We would like to ackno- edgethesereviewers, Ms.AnuHankala, M.Sc.TeppoHujala, M.Sc.AnnuKaila,

Tropical forests affect climate, and the removal of the forests will change climate. Or not? This book discusses basic questions on how far, if at all, tropical deforestation leads to climatic change. The question of this uncertainty is particularly addressed. One important consequence of the uncertainties of whether deforestation affects climate is how scientific findings best illuminate the policy-making process.

This book Trees IV, like the previous volumes (Trees I, II, III published in 1986, 1989, 1991, respectively), is special in its approach. It elucidates the case history and biotechnology of individual fruit, forest, and ornamental trees, and discusses the present state of the art, with particular reference to in vitro propagation. It comprises 24 chapters contributed by international experts, and deals with the importance, distribution, conventional propa gation, micropropagation, review of tissue culture studies, and recent advances in the in vitro culture and genetic manipulation of various species of Acrocomia, Ailanthus, Anacardium, Allocasuarina, Carya, Casuarina, Coffea, Cyphomandra, Feijoa, Fraxinus, Gymnocladus, Leptospermum, Fagus, Metroxylon, Oxydendrum, Paeonia, Paulownia, Pouteria, Psidium, and Quercus. Included are also five chapters on gymnosperm trees, such as Abies jraseri, Cephalotaxus harringtonia, Pinus durangensis, P. gregg ii, P. halepensis, P. pinea, and Tetraclinis articulata. Trees IV is a valuable reference book for scientists, teachers, and students of forestry, botany, genetics, and horticulture, and all those who are interested in the biotechnology of trees. New Delhi, March 1996 Professor y. P. S. BAJAJ Series Editor Contents Section I Angiosperm Trees 1. 1 Acrocomia Species (Macauba Palm) O. l. CROCOMO and M. MELO (With 8 Figures) 1 General Account . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 Chemical Composition . . . . . . 5 3 Genetics and Crop Improvement 9 4 In Vitro Culture Studies 10 5 Industrial Utilization . . . 14 6 Lauric Acid . . . . . . . . . 15 7 Summary and Conclusions 15 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1. 2 Ailanthus altissima Mill. Swingle (Tree of Heaven) M. ZENKTELER and B."

Dispersal processes have important effects on plant distribution and abundance. Although adaptations to long range dispersal (telechory) are by no means rare in desert plants, many desert plant species do not possess any features to promote dispersal (atelechory), while others have structures that hamper dispersal (antitelechory). The high frequency with which atelechorous and antitelechorous mechanisms are present in plants inhabiting arid areas indicates the importance of these adaptations. Among the benefits derived from these adaptations are the spreading of germination over time, the provision of suitable conditions for germination and subsequent seedling establishment, and the maintenance of a reservoir of available seeds (seed bank). This book describes the ways and means - anatomical, morphological and ecological - by which dispersal in desert plants has evolved to ensure the survival of these species in their harsh and unpredictable environment.

The field of the molecular basis of plant disease is rapidly developing. The nineteen chapters of current information in Molecular Strategies of Pathogens and Host Plants are written by well known experts in the United States and Japan, and cover recent progress in the genetics and molecular biology of bacteria and fungi which are pathogens of plants. This research emphasizes the genes which are responsible for production of toxins, enzymes, and hormones that lead to pathogenicity and specificity in plant-pathogen interactions. Several chapters also examine the biochemistry of the plant's response to microbial attack.

Research on decomposer communities of terrestrial ecosystems for a long time has focussed on microbial biomass and gross turnover parameters. Recently, more and more attempts are made to look beyond the biomass, and more specifically determine functions and populations on a smaller scale-in time and space. A multitude of techniques is being improved and developed. Garland and Mills (1991) triggered a series of publications on substrate utilization tests in the field of microbial ecology. Despite several promising results for different applications in different laboratories, many problems concerning the assay and the interpretation of results became evident. After individual discussions on the approach with colleagues from various laboratories we started to plan a workshop on the matter. The response on our first circular was extraordinary, and instead of a small workshop it became a meeting with almost 150 participants. The meeting was named 'Substrate use for characterization of microbial communities in terrestrial ecosystems' (SUBMECO) and was held in Innsbruck, Austria, from Oct. 16-18, 1996. The very focussed scope attracted enthusiastic advocates of the approach, and also serious critics. Some of the topics concerned improvements of current inoculation and incubation techniques, ranging from sample pre-treatment, inoculum density and incubation temperature to statistical data handling. New methods for calculating microbial diversity were proposed, as well as bootstrap methods that allow statistics with many variables on a relatively low number of replicates.

"Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology" contains timely review articles concerned with all aspects of chemical contaminants (including pesticides) in the total environment, including toxicological considerations and consequences. It attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of advances, philosophy, and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of residues of these and other foreign chemicals in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.