FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER,THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES 'A simultaneously stimulating and soothing blend of nature writing and science ... Strongly encourages tree hugging for our own, human sake' Guardian Summer Reads 2021 A powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground. Where the colour green calms us, and the forest sharpens our senses. In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of climate change, many of us fear we've lost our connection to nature, but Wohlleben is convinced that age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. We just have to know where to look. Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, exploring: the language of the forest the consciousness of plants and the eroding boundary between flora and fauna A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees shares how to see, feel, smell, hear, and even taste the forest. Peter Wohlleben, renowned for his ability to write about trees in an engaging and moving way, reveals a wondrous cosmos where humans are a part of nature, and where conservation and environmental activism is not just about saving trees, it's about saving ourselves, too.

The assimilation of sulfur in higher plants and its reduction in metabolically important sulfur compounds are crucial factors determining plant growth and vigor and resistance to stresses. The present book discusses the aspects of sustainable crop production with sulfur, the importance of sulfur metabolites and sulfur metabolizing enzymes in abiotic stress management in plants. The book provides the most up-to-date reference on sulfur assimilation in plants.

Prepared at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in close collaboration with the East African Herbarium and in liaison with the University of Dar es Salaam, the University of Nairobi and the Makerere University, this series is designed to the highest academic standards and is a useful reference for anyone concerned with the identification and utilization of plants in eastern Africa. Each family is published as a separate part.

Capsicum has been used since ancient times not only as a traditional medicine but also as a natural colourant. The medicinal properties of capsicum makes it popular in both ayirvedic and homeopathic medicines. This book, written by experts, includes material that deals with a variety of aspects, including ethnobotany, chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, cultivation, analysis, tissue culture and commercial aspects of Capsicum. With the recent discovery of the 'hot receptor' in human beings, and because of its variet therapeutic properties, Capsaicin, the pungent, principle component of Capsicum, has earned much industrial importance.
This book discusses in detail, the therapeutic applications of Capsaicin together with its mode of action on different biological systems.

These proceedings bring together diverse disciplines that study nitrogen fixation and describe the most recent advances made in various fields: chemists are now studying FeMoco, the active site of nitrogenase in non-protein surroundings, and have refined the crystal structure of the enzyme to 1.6 angstroms.

Prepared at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in close collaboration with the East African Herbarium and in liaison with the University of Dar es Salaam, the University of Nairobi and the Makerere University, this series is designed to the highest academic standards and is a useful reference for anyone concerned with the identification and utilization of plants in eastern Africa. Each family is published as a separate part.

This handbook offers effective strategies to modify and adjust crop production processes to decrease the toxicity of soil contaminants, balance soil pH, improve root growth and nutrient uptake, and increase agricultural yield. The Handbook of Soil Acidity provides methods to, measure soil acidity, determine the major causes of soil acidification, calculate acidification rates for specific crop sequences, identify high-risk areas for soil acidification, and model acidification phenomena. This is an essential resource for plant, crop, soil, and environmental scientists, plant and crop physiologists, botanists, agronomists, agriculturists, and upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and continuing-education students in these disciplines.

The studies presented in this volume are meant to The reason why we know relatively little about close some gaps in our knowledge of leaf anatomy inner leaf structure of trees from tropical humid of trees in tropical humid forests. Although xero forests is that the leaf anatomy of only a few species morphy of the foliage in tropical humid forests has or genera or - at the most - of an entire family has been much discussed, the statements have generally been studied in detail up to the present. Most of been based on sporadic anatomical studies of part i these studies are, therefore, of taxonomic interest. cular species or genera, a complete area of the size They cannot be included in this study because they of 155. 5 ha has certainly never been considered. do not supply the same information or amount of The present studies analyse an entire inventory of a data presented here. Anatomical studies are very time consuiming because the material first has to be given region in which the number of species and the number of individuals is very well known. This fact prepared and cut before observation can begin. In allows the elaboration of many ecological aspects, vestigation of about 50 characteristics in 230 species which was the main intention of the author."

The refinement of molecular techniques and the development of new probes of the phylogeny of diazotrophs has revealed an extreme biodiversity among the nitrogen fixers, which helps explain the role that nitrogen fixation plays in maintaining life on Earth. The most efficient ecosystems are those where the bacteria are associated with a plant in differentiated organs to benefit crop productivity. Most short-term benefit from fundamental research on nitrogen fixation is likely to result in the improvement of existing nitrogen-fixing symbiotic or associative systems. Longer-term efforts are aimed at extending the nitrogen-fixing capacity to other organisms, including transfer of the genetic information for efficient nitrogen fixation into the plant genome and using current knowledge of microbe-plant interactions to extend symbiosis to cereals and, in particular, to rice. Related challenges in sustainable agriculture and forestry include the creation of new nitrogen-fixing associations. All of these approaches were discussed at the 11th International Congress on Nitrogen Fixation, Paris, France, July 20-25, 1997 and covered in the present proceedings volume.

Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth. During the green revolution nitrogenfertilisation was responsible for spectacular yield increases. At present yield is balanced with commitments towards the environment and sustainable agriculture. For agro-biotechnology comprehensive knowledge of plant functioning is needed. Yield improvement and accumulation of essential nitrogen compounds is relying on selection and gene technologies.

Research on the uptake, acquisition and assimilation of nitrogen, as well as the synthesis and storage of reserve and defence N-compounds, therefore, is essential. The third volume in the Plant Ecophysiology series integrates functional and molecular physiology with ecophysiological and sustainable agricultural approaches to get a better understanding of the regulation and the impact of environmental and stress signals on nitrogen acquisition and assimilation. The book is of interest for advanced students and junior researchers and supplies comprehensive information for scientists working in the field of nitrogen metabolism and readers interested in sustainable development.

With contributions from nearly 130 internationally renowned experts in the field, this reference details advances in transgenic plant construction and explores the social, political, and legal aspects of genetic plant manipulation. It provides analyzes of the history, genetics, physiology, and cultivation of over 30 species of transgenic seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Stressing the impact of genetic engineering strategies on the nutritional and functional benefit of foods as well as on consumer health and the global market economy, the book covers methods of gene marking, transferring, and tagging public perceptions to the selective breeding, hybridization, and recombinant DNA manipulation of food.

Learn what it takes to create and implement a truly successful seed policy!This unique book brings together international experts on seed policy and law. While other books approach the subject from the perspective of seed industry development and privatization, Seed Policy, Legislation, and Law makes clear that a successful national seed policy must be based on a thorough analysis of connected issues such as biodiversity and rural development. In addition to giving you an essential overview of seed regulatory reform, this book will also bring you up to date on recent developments in the field, such as intellectual property and the biosafety of GMOs.Seed Policy, Legislation, and Law examines: quality control issues in developing countries case studies from Turkey, Uganda, and Bangladesh property rights for plant varieties the regulation of genetically modified seeds in emerging economies agro-biodiversity as it relates to seed policy why a farmer seed system is essential in a national seed sector the impact of the transition from central seed sector planning to a free market how international seed associations can impact policy development new technological developments like GURTs and appropriate policy responses

This book is a comprehensive review of the genera of Gentianaceae, a family of flowering plants, found in tropical East Africa. It presents information on their character, occurrence, habitat, phenotypic variations and distribution of each of the species under these genera.

The genus Thymus consists of about 350 species of perennial, aromatic herbs and subshrubs native to Europe and North Africa. Various types of thyme are used all over the globe as condiments, ornamentals and sources of essential oil. Thyme oil (distilled from its leaves) is among the world's top ten essential oils, displaying antibacterial, antimycotic, antioxidative, food preservative and mammalian age-delaying properties. Because of the wide variety of its applications, the demand for thyme oil is growing; hence thyme commands an important place in an expanding world market. Commercial supply of thyme originates mainly from European countries, but recently this increased demand has lead to new winter-hardy, high yield cultivars being developed for commercial cultivation in Canada and North America.
This comprehensive volume covers all aspects of the biology, cultivation, pharmacology, chemistry and industrial processing of the genus Thymus. It is the most up to date overview of current knowledge in thyme use, and will be an invaluable reference source to those interested in medicinal plants, natural products, pharmacy, pharmacognosy and agronomy.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203216857

The first premise of this book is that farmers need access to options for improving their situation. In agricultural terms, these options might be manage ment alternatives or different crops to grow, that can stabilize or increase household income, that reduce soil degradation and dependence on off-farm inputs, or that exploit local market opportunities. Farmers need a facilitating environment, in which affordable credit is available if needed, in which policies are conducive to judicious management of natural resources, and in which costs and prices of production are stable. Another key ingredient of this facilitating environment is information: an understanding of which options are viable, how these operate at the farm level, and what their impact may be on the things that farmers perceive as being important. The second premise is that systems analysis and simulation have an impor tant role to play in fostering this understanding of options, traditional field experimentation being time-consuming and costly. This book summarizes the activities of the International Benchmark Sites Network for Agrotechnology Transfer (IBSNAT) project, an international initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). IBSNAT was an attempt to demonstrate the effectiveness of understanding options through systems analysis and simulation for the ultimate benefit of farm households in the tropics and subtropics. The idea for the book was first suggested at one of the last IBSNAT group meetings held at the University of Hawaii in 1993."

Marijuana is the prototypical cannabinoid, and is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. Cannabinoids are molecules found naturally in the human body and brain as well as in cannabis.
This book provides an extensive reference on the biology of marijuana and the role of molecular techniques in elucidating neuropharmacological aspects of cannabinoid receptors and the endogenous compounds that act upon them. Contributions from experts from around the world describe the interaction of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids on a wide range of biological functions including movement, memory and learning, pain, emotions, endocrine functions and many more. The Biology of Marijuana will be of interest to all scientists and clinicians interested in the biological effects and pharmacology of this drug.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203219139

A wide variety of plants, ranging in size from forest floor herbs to giant canopy trees, rely on animals to disperse their seeds. Typical values of the proportion of tropical vascular plants that produce fleshy fruits and have animal-dispersed seeds range from 50-90%, depending on habitat. In this section, the authors discuss this mutualism from the plant's perspective. Herrera begins by challenging the notion that plant traits traditionally interpreted as being the product of fruit-frugivore coevolution really are the outcome of a response-counter-response kind of evolutionary process. He uses examples of congeneric plants living in very different biotic and abiotic environments and whose fossilizable characteristics have not changed over long periods of time to argue that there exists little or no basis for assuming that gradualistic change and environmental tracking characterizes the interactions between plants and their vertebrate seed dispersers. A common theme that runs through the papers by Herrera, Denslow et at. , and Stiles and White is the importance of the 'fruiting environment' (i. e. the spatial relationships of conspecific and non-conspecific fruiting plants) on rates of fruit removal and patterns of seed rain. Herrera and Denslow et at. point out that this environment is largely outside the control of individual plant species and, as a result, closely coevolved interactions between vertebrates and plants are unlikely to evolve.

This highly visual new guide introduces readers to 100 of the most memorable trees in the bushveld – the northern and eastern regions of South Africa, encompassing both the lowveld and the highveld.

An introduction covers the basics of tree anatomy, supported by a pictorial glossary, and details the author’s streamlined ID method that enables even novices to make quick and sure identifi cations.

• Most trees are generously featured across double-page spreads;

• Full tree images along with diagnostic photos (bark, leaves, thorns, fl owers, pods, fruit, etc.) enable readers to distinguish even those trees that are most confusing, such as the ‘acacias’ or the bushwillows;

• Concise text highlights each tree’s key features;

• Interesting facts, multiple uses and particular value the trees have among local populations are given.

With its abundant, detailed photographs and straightforward text, this guide will help readers unlock the complicated world of trees.

This benchmark text integrates the recent revolution in the molecular-developmental genetics of plants with mainstream evolutionary thought. There is increasing cooperation between strongly genomics-influenced researchers, with their strong grasp of technology - and evolutionary morphogenetists and systematists who are more deeply rooted in comparative biology and patterns of plant evolution. This book discusses our increasing understanding of gene function and expression, along with modern phylogenies integrating morphological and molecular data to highlight specific key transitions in plant evolution most worthy of intensive study. Furthermore, it explores increasing knowledge of the physical expression of plant development from disciplines such as anatomy and palaeobotany. Rather than focus on the technical aspects of plant genomics, this book provides genuinely integrated explanations of plant evolution.
This leading panel of contributors have succeeded in turning a demanding subject into an accessible volume for a wide range of professional botanists and postgraduates and senior undergraduates in developmental biology, applied molecular biology, molecular evolution, morphogenesis, organismal botany and theoretical systematics.

Create improved crops with these techniques for plant cell culture This comprehensive book presents the basic concepts and applied techniques of plant cell and tissue culture. More and more, commercial plant breeding and development employs these methods to protect crops from weather, pests, and disease. Covering the history of in vitro breeding as well as emerging research trends, In Vitro Plant Breeding offers specific techniques for crop improvement and breeding. Designed as a text for undergraduate students, In Vitro Plant Breeding presents the theory of tissue culture as well as practical techniques. Its step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations facilitate learning and laboratory work. In Vitro Plant Breeding gives in-depth information and the latest research on the vital concepts and techniques of in vitro breeding, including: applications of plant tissue culture morphogenesis and organogenesis micropropagation producing haploid plants in vitro in vitro pollination and fertilization problems of embryo culture somatic hybridization protoplast technology selection of desirable traits cryopreservation and plant breeding micrograftingThis helpful book is plentifully illustrated with examples, schematic descriptions, and tables to make the concepts clear and easy to learn. In Vitro Plant Breeding is an essential resource.

As agriculture becomes more mechanized and science increases the possibilities for using inputs to enhance production, the role of PGRs becomes more vital. Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture and Horticulture provides agriculture professionals and researchers with the information needed to effectively tap these versatile resources to enhance crop production.Through discussions of the "classical five" phytohormones--gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, abscisic acid, and auxins--and the growing number of nontraditional PGRs such as oligosaccharins and brassinosteroids, Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture and Horticulture reviews past and present uses of PGRs in managing crop yield and offers some speculation on future directions.Detailed discussions on the use of PGRs in, for example, grain, ornamental, and citrus crops, introduce readers to strategies for enhancing crop quantity and quality, for improving the postproduction quality of life of perishable plants, and for crop load management, respectively. The book also includes informative visuals, such as tables of common, chemical, and trade names of different commercially available PGRs; diagrams of various PGR processes; as well as before-and-after pictures illustrating the effects of PGRs.Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture and Horticulture is a comprehensive text covering the role of plant growth regulators in: root formation manipulating yield potential plant stress protection ornamental horticulture postharvest life of ornamentals manipulating fruit development and storage quality citriculture reducing fruit drop bloom-thinning strategiesIf the history of agriculture, which is over 10,000 years old, was condensed into a twenty-four-hour span, science-based plant breeding would be only about fifteen minutes old. Still, the role of PGRs in agriculture is modest compared to other agrochemicals, such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture and Horticulture is an invaluable guide to the varied roles filled by PGRs in the attainment of higher-quality, better-yielding crops.

Cell culture methodologies have become standard procedures in most plant laboratories. Currently, facilities for in vitro cell cultures are found in practically every plant biology laboratory, serving different purposes since tissue culture has turned into a basic asset for modern biotechnology, from the fundamental biochemical aspects to the massive propagation of selected individuals. "Plant Cell Culture Protocols, Third Edition is divided into five convenient sections that cover topics from general methodologies, such as culture induction, growth and viability evaluation, statistical analysis and contamination control, to highly specialized techniques, such as clonal propagation, haploid production, somatic embryogenesis, organelle transformation. The volume concludes with a section on the laborious process of measuring the epigenetics changes in tissue cultures."Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Plant Cell Culture Protocols, Third Edition seeks to serve both professionals and novices with its guide to the most common and applicable techniques and methods for plant tissue and cell culture.

CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of GRAS Herbs and Other Economic Plants is a unique catalog that includes more than 15,000 phytochemical constituents from over 1,000 higher plant species. This volume covers all of the generally-recognized-as-safe (GRAS) herbs and at least 250 important food and medicinal plants. Each entry features the scientific name, one or more common names, a listing of phytochemical constituents, a single datum or range of quantitative data (wet-weight to dry-weight in parts per million), two-letter abbreviation identifying the plant part, and three-letter abbreviation(s) indicating the source(s) of the data.

The extraordinary amount of data compiled into an easy-to-use tabular format makes the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of GRAS Herbs and Other Economic Plants a volume useful to all pharmacologists, toxicologists, nutritionists, pharmacognicists, and food scientists.