Plant Ecology & Conservation is an introduction to the world of plant ecology. It includes the main areas of current research including ideas about plant populations, nutrition and plant community ecology and has a particular emphasis on the interactions of plants with animals, fungi and microorganisms whose important is being increasingly demonstrated. With the world's environmental problems having such a high profile, the book focusses on the human impact on the world's plant species. Conservation of the terrestrial world starts with plants as they form the basis of all ecosystems on land. We can only understand how best to conserve the world's biodiversity with an understanding of the central role of plant ecology. This theme runs throughout with numerous examples of the disruption of ecosystems by human activity emphasising the connection between plant ecology and conservation. Key Features: Boxes present case studies, important statistics and interesting asides Full-colour photos depict key species and habitats and superb line drawings illustrate many concepts Important data are presented in Tables and Figures throughout Each chapter has Key Concepts and review questions to test a reader's grasp of the content Key References and Further Reading are given for each chapter to point the reader towards the most important and influential literature Jargon is kept to a minimum and a full Glossary of all technical terms is presented The book is aimed primarily at undergraduate and graduate students in any aspect of ecology or plant science. It should also appeal to anyone interested in how plants function and are concerned about what is needed for the conservation of the world's ecosystems.

This book presents the state of the skill of understanding brassinosteroids (BRs) signaling plus crosstalk with phytohormone and their association in plant adaptation to abiotic stresses comprising physiological, biochemical, and molecular developments. Due to progressively adverse environmental conditions and scarce natural resources, high-efficient crops have become more important than ever. For the successful improvement of stress-tolerant plants, it is vital to understand the precise signaling appliances that plants practice to abide stresses as well as how much these mechanisms are convinced by phytohormone. However, it is also debatable on which step plants can attain brassinosteroids (BRs) signaling from an evolutionary viewpoint. BRs are involved in modulating a large array of important functions throughout a plant's life cycles. BRs are considered as one of the most important plant steroidal hormones that show a varied role in observing a wide range of developmental practices in plants. Our grip on brassinosteroids signaling has quickly extended over the past two decades, owing in part to the isolation of the constituents intricate in the signal transduction trail. The book proposes a useful guide for plant researchers and graduate students in connected areas.

This book emphasizes the necessity of green spaces and landscape planning to achieve a liveable city. It will more specifically enquire on how to reach a better liveability from the current conditions of Lima. This book takes on the one hand classic concepts from urban agronomy as are soil, water and plants, and on the other hand emphasizes the resources, the plant adaptations and the urban ecosystems, according to the context of Lima. Comparisons are also made to landscape concepts from other cities of the word, contemporary methods of urban landscape research are explained in perspectives of agronomy and ecology. The ecological restoration of some natural spaces of Lima are proposed and related to the food security which impacts on the sustainability of the city. Finally, it describes representative Parks of Lima and previous research projects that have allowed to improve the urban landscape. Considering the city's cultural diversity, comparisons to the mountain and rainforest areas are also made.

The Pictorial Atlas of Soilborne Fungal Plant Pathogens and Diseases describes the soilborne fungal diseases caused by Oomycetes, Zygomycetes, Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, and Deuteromycetous (Anamorphic) fungi. Soilborne fungal diseases are significant as both environmental and agricultural problems, yet it is difficult to understand the ecology of pathogenic fungi and its effective control. This book provides very detailed information on many of the commonly and not so commonly encountered groups of soilborne fungi diseases. It will be a useful reference for those teaching and conducting research in mycology, plant pathology, soilborne plant diseases, and the ecology of fungal communities.

Marine macrophytes (macroalgae, seagrasses, and mangroves) comprise thousands of species distributed in shallow water areas along the world's coastlines. They play a key role in marine ecosystems regarding biodiversity and energy flow. A large proportion of macrophyte species can be characterised as ecosystem engineers-organisms that directly or indirectly affect the availability of resources to other species by modifying, maintaining, and creating habitats. This book is divided into three main themes: * Marine macroalgae and seagrasses as sources of biodiversity gives an overview of the diversity of the main organisms associated with macrophytes, and their functional role and interactions within their hosts. * Primary and secondary production of Macrophytes synthesizes research on food web structures derived from/or associated with, macrophytes and the transfer of macrophytic primary and secondary production from one ecosystem to another. * Threats to macrophytic ecosystem engineers addresses human-induced effects including eutrophication, physical destruction, invasive species, and global warming. The book is among the first one to concentrate on the value of macrophytes for the well-being of marine habitats. The book is aimed at academics but may be useful for students, policy makers, and laymen alike.

Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis plays a major role in biodiversity and stability of ecosystems in tropical forests. It is a research imperative in tropical and neotropical forest ecosystems because they contain ecologically and economically important tree species. This book provides an overview of the knowledge of ECM symbioses in tropical and neotropical ecosystem forests. The contents address diversity and function of ectomycorrhiza associated with forest plants, impacts of ectomycorrhiza on plant diversity and composition, regeneration and dynamics of ecosystems, biomass production in forestry, and adaptation of ectomycorrhiza.

This reference explores the molecular, biochemical, functional, structural, and developmental mechanisms of pH in plant growth-examining the role of pH in plant symplasm, plant apoplasm, the rhizosphere, the ecosystem, and in plant interaction with biotic and abiotic environments. Analyzing the complexities of plant life from biological processes to cell organelles and molecules, the Handbook of Plant Growth is an excellent and authoritative reference for plant, crop, soil, and environmental scientists; plant and crop physiologists; botanists; agronomists; agriculturists; horticulturists; biochemists; foresters; and upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and continuing-education students in these disciplines.

While scientific and socio-political communities around the world are aware of the natural and economic importance of biodiversity, we are faced with an ever-increasing number of plant species under threat of extinction. Conservation is thus a vital part of the plant scientist's work, in the field, in botanic gardens and in universities. This colour atlas has been conceived to integrate the dual botanical themes of plant propagation and conservation. Various texts deal with propagation, in vivo and in vitro, and with aspects of conservation, but none marries the two themes, let alone a book which uses the concise, focused colour atlas approach. Each of the chapters has been written by an acknowledged international authority on the subject, under the editorship of Dr Bryan Bowes whose Colour Guide to Plant Structure (2nd edition 2008) is already highly successful. Topics range from the history and likely future of conservation and the effects of human activity on plant diversity, to the practical techniques of collection, preservation, germination, propagation and management of plant populations in the laboratory and in the field. The text is referenced and is illustrated throughout by colour photos and photomicrographs of the highest quality. It appeals worldwide to students of conservation, plant science and biology, and to professionals and academics, plant propagators, ecologists, and conservationists working in botanic gardens, universities and colleges, in field research and in nurseries specialising in indigenous plants.

This book was first published in 1998. Studies of global climate change predict that increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature are expected to occur over the next century. To help gain an insight into the potential effect of these changes on forests, this book describes how major European tree species respond to experimentally manipulated environmental conditions. The effects on photosynthesis, respiration and development are described and the results used to generate models of the likely response of European forests to the predicted changes in climate. The volume encompasses studies carried out under the ECOCRAFT (European Collaboration on CO2 Responses Applied to Forests and Trees) programme, focusing on the major tree species found in eight European countries. As such it provides an authoritative report of the current status of European research into this important area of global environmental biology.

The first of two volumes documenting the latest findings on forest biodiversity, this book presents original, new contributions by some three hundred scientists from over forty countries. Researchers from the massive Smithsonian/MAB Biological Diversity Program cover the feasibility of using long-term inventory plots as a framework for monitoring multi-layer vegetation, socioeconomic applications of research results, and promotion of multidisciplinary research and training. The book is in five main sections covering first the methodology for forest monitoring and modeling and then the results of research from Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia/Pacific.

This text explores the spatial variation and seasonality in growth and reproduction of "Enhalus acoroides" (L.f.) Royle populations in the coastal waters off Cape Bolinao, NW Phillipines.

"Serengeti II: Dynamics, Management, and Conservation of an Ecosystem" brings together twenty years of research by leading scientists to provide the most most thorough understanding to date of the spectacular Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in East Africa, home to one of the largest and most diverse populations of animals in the world.
Building on the groundwork laid by the classic "Serengeti: Dynamics of an Ecosystem," published in 1979 by the University of Chicago Press, this new book integrates studies of the ecosystem at every level--from the plants at the bottom of the visible food chain, to the many species of herbivores and predators, to the system as a whole. Drawing on new data from many long-term studies and from more recent research initiatives, and applying new theory and computer technology, the contributors examine the large-scale processes that have produced the Serengeti's extraordinary biological diversity, as well as the interactions among species and between plants and animals and their environment. They also introduce computer modeling as a tool for exploring these interactions, employing this new technology to test and anticipate the effects of social, political, and economic changes on the entire ecosystem and on particular species, and so to shape future conservation and management strategies.

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are plant species which are more or less closely related to crops. They are a vital resource by providing a pool of genetic variation that can be used in breeding new and better adapted varieties of crops that are resistant to stress, disease, drought and other factors. They will be increasingly important in allowing crops to adapt to the impacts of climate, thus safeguarding future agricultural production. Until recently, the main conservation strategy adopted for CWR has been ex situ - through the maintenance of samples as seed or vegetative material in various kinds of genebank or other facilities. Now the need to conserve CWR in their natural surroundings (in situ) is increasingly recognized. Recent research co-ordinated by Bioversity International has produced a wealth of information on good practices and lessons learned for their effective conservation. This book captures the important practical experiences of countries participating in this work and describes them for the wider conservation community. It includes case studies and examples from Armenia, Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan, which are important centres of diversity for crop wild relatives, and covers four geographical regions - the Caucasus, South America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific Region. It provides practical, relevant information and guidance for the scaling-up of actions targeting CWR conservation around the world.

"Serengeti II: Dynamics, Management, and Conservation of an Ecosystem" brings together twenty years of research by leading scientists to provide the most most thorough understanding to date of the spectacular Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in East Africa, home to one of the largest and most diverse populations of animals in the world.
Building on the groundwork laid by the classic "Serengeti: Dynamics of an Ecosystem," published in 1979 by the University of Chicago Press, this new book integrates studies of the ecosystem at every level--from the plants at the bottom of the visible food chain, to the many species of herbivores and predators, to the system as a whole. Drawing on new data from many long-term studies and from more recent research initiatives, and applying new theory and computer technology, the contributors examine the large-scale processes that have produced the Serengeti's extraordinary biological diversity, as well as the interactions among species and between plants and animals and their environment. They also introduce computer modeling as a tool for exploring these interactions, employing this new technology to test and anticipate the effects of social, political, and economic changes on the entire ecosystem and on particular species, and so to shape future conservation and management strategies.

In Microclimate, Vegetation & Fauna the ecologist meets the meteorologist: it is about the biological aspects of microclimate and its variation in horizontal and vertical directions. The great diversity found in the various habitats is stressed, also as far as the microclimate is concerned.The stronghold of this book on microclimatology or the `minor weather' in the immediate surroundings of plants and animals is its capacity to unravel the causal relationships between climate, topography, soils, vegetation and fauna. The manifold interactions in between are explained in detail and it is concluded that the connections are so intimate that each species has its own microclimate. This book is unique and interesting for a wide audience. It specifically targets natural scientists and students in biology with an interest in climatology and climatologists with an interest in biology.

The book addresses the compelling demand for quantitative training in plant biology, including comparisons of the rate of processes, the size of structures and interactions among different processes, approached at different levels from molecules to the environment. Attention is paid to aspects of modern molecular biology and to modern biophysical treatments of classical transport and circulatory problems. This will allow the reader to become familiar with calculus as a tool to understand plant science. The book discusses specific problems covering six specific topics, and includes an additional section devoted to miscellaneous issues. It is also complemented by appendices describing units, conversion factors, formulae and data relevant to plant biology and to the relationship of plants with the environment.

This atlas presents anatomical descriptions of the xylem, bark and pith of 264 species belonging to 71 families. It highlights the anatomical diversity of trees, shrubs, dwarf shrubs, woody lianas and several of the prominent perennial herbs from the Eastern Mediterranean region, with a focus on the island of Cyprus. The island's topography and biogeographic history combine to provide a wide range of habitats and diverse flora including widespread, endemic, and ornamental species. The monograph for each species includes a description of the anatomical structures of the stem and twig xylem and the twig's bark and pith, as well as color micrographs of double-stained sections of each of these plant parts. These entries are accompanied by a photograph and a brief description of the plant including stem wood density, height, habit, flower, leaf and fruit characteristics, and a map showing its geographic and altitudinal distribution in the region. Xylem descriptions follow the IAWA lists of microscopic features for hardwood and softwood identification. For bark and pith descriptions, a new coding system developed by the authors is applied. Lastly, the work offers a key for wood identification that was developed to differentiate between groups of species by using a small number of features that are unambiguous and clearly visible. The atlas will be a valuable guide for botanists, ecologists, foresters, archeologists, horticulturists and paleobotanists.

Current phase-out schedules of the production and emission of CFC's indicate that chlorine loading in the stratosphere is not yet at its maximum. The recovery of stratospheric ozone is estimated to take time and ele vated levels of UV-B radiation are expected to occur throughout most of the next century. Despite numerous physiological studies of UV-B effects on plants, often grown in climate chambers, knowledge of UV-B effects on organisms and processes in natural aquatic or terrestrial ecosystems is poor. Currently it appears that UV-B radiation is not just an environmental stress' factor to plants. In various ways, which are incompletely understood, UV-B affects a wide range of physiological and ecological processes. Remarkably, recent field studies indicate that enhanced UV-B does not markedly affect photosynthesis, growth and primary production, but rather interferes with plant morphogenesis and plant and ecosystem functions relating to the secondary metabolism. This special issue and book UV-B and Biosphere is an attempt to cover this range and to report the progress made in the research of ecological effects of enhanced solar UV-B radiation. The papers in this book formed the basis of an international workshop entitled' UV-B and Biosphere' , December 15-18, 1995, in Wageningen, The Netherlands. A first reaction of Hans de Boois on the number of papers and sessions scheduled from Friday to Sunday morning was: far too many.

The present book is a compilation of current test methods useful in risk assessment of transgenic plants. It is intended to aid the environmental researcher in finding and comparing relevant methods quickly and easily. It may also be used as a general reference work for field-ecologists, laboratory- biologists and others working in plant population biology and genetics. The major processes affecting the fate of plants are covered with emphasis on invasion, competition and establishment, e.g., seed dispersal, density-dependent competition, and plant growth. Ecosystem effects and genetic structure are also covered. For each process a number of relevant test methods have been selected; in total, 84 methods for field, greenhouse or laboratory research are included, employing 51 key processwords. Each method is described and evaluated briefly and succinctly, and there are comments on assumptions, restrictions, advantages, and applications. An extensive bibliography provides entry into the scientific background, and cross references make it possible quickly to find all relevant sources. Methods to study pollination and gene transfer will be considered in a future volume.

In this study, nine florules from the Chloropagus Formation near Fernley, Nevada, are dated at 14.7-13.4 million years. The author finds that dominant mixed conifer forest and sclerophyll woodland species of the Sierra Nevada-Klamath region replaced exotic deciduous hardwoods in the two lowest sites. He concludes that this change reflects the loss of adequate summer rain as upwelling from a colder ocean resulted from spreading East Antarctic ice.

In this book, plant biology is considered from the perspective of plants and their surrounding environment, including both biotic and abiotic interactions. The intended audience is undergraduate students in the middle or final phases of their programs of study. Topics are developed to provide a rudimentary understanding of how plant-environment interactions span multiple spatiotemporal scales, and how this rudimentary knowledge can be applied to understand the causes of ecosystem vulnerabilities in the face of global climate change and expansion of natural resource use by human societies. In all chapters connections are made from smaller to larger scales of ecological organization, providing a foundation for understanding plant ecology. Where relevant, environmental threats to ecological systems are identified and future research needs are discussed. As future generations take on the responsibility for managing ecosystem goods and services, one of the most effective resources that can be passed on is accumulated knowledge of how organisms, populations, species, communities and ecosystems function and interact across scales of organization. This book is intended to provide some of that knowledge, and hopefully provide those generations with the ability to avoid some of the catastrophic environmental mistakes that prior generations have made.

A comprehensive treatment of the taxonomy and geographical distribution of the Euchaetidae, a typically carnivorous marine Calanoid family with a worldwide distribution in the whole depth range. The author redefines the family and its two genera. Species groups recognized in each genus and a total of 75 species found are described in detail and illustrated with figures. Geographical range is determined for most of the species. Keys are presented for identification of the species groups and the species in each group.