Des Menschen Werk auf Erden kann vergehen, Doch Leben stets im Wandel wird bestehen. Heinrich Walter The importance of ecology for the fate of mankind is receiving ever wider recognition. A syncretic-holistic approach to ecology was recently given unexpected support by the well-known atomic physicist and pupil of Heisenberg, Fritjov Capra. In his book The Turning Point, published in 1982 in the U.S.A., Capra comments critically, from the viewpoint of the latest findings of subatomic physics, on the mechanical-analytical ap proach which still predominates in the biological sciences, and adds some philosophical reflections. The following quotations are important ecolo gically and may be of interest to biologists in general: "It is now becoming apparent that overemphasis on the scientific method and on rational, analytic thinking has led to attitudes that are profoundly anti-ecological. In truth, the understanding of ecosystems is hindered by the very nature of the rational mind. Rational thinking is linear, whereas ecological awareness arises from an intuition of non-linear systems .... The Cartesian view of the universe as a mechanical system provided a 'scientific' sanction for the manipulation and exploitation of nature that has become typical of Western culture .... The problem is that scientists, encouraged by their success in treating living organisms as machines, tend to believe that they are nothing but machines .... Modern physics can show the other sciences that scientific thinking does not necessarily have to be reductionist and mechanistic, that holistic and ecological views are also scientifically sound ...."

In Volume 1 of this four-volume series, ecological problems of a general nature were discussed from a global point of view. Familiarity with this is essential for a full understanding of the more specialized treatment in this and subsequent volumes, for no similar approach is to be found in other ecological handbooks for beginners. This present volume deals in detail with the special ecological relation ships of the tropical and subtropical zonobiomes I to III. Most ecologists proceed from the basis of their experience in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. As a result, many ecological writings show a certain one-sidedness and there is a danger that generalizations made will not be broadly applicable. To avoid this, particular emphasis is laid, in this vol urne, on the special ecological features and the characteristics of the trop ical and subtropical regions. More specifically, we deal not only with the relationship of the euclimatope to zonal soils and zonal vegetation, but also pay attention to azonal conditions shown in pedobiomes and in the altitudinal belts of mountains, the orobiomes. In this and the subsequent volumes the same simple scheme is followed in treating each zonobiome: 1. climate; 2. soils; 3. producers; 4. consum ers; 5. decomposers; 6. ecosystems; 7. sub division into biomes; 8. oro biomes; 9. pedobiomes and 10. zonoecotones. Where it has appeared expedient, however, we have occasionally deviated from this scheme (see Deserts D, F, G and H)."

By the end of the last century, the only region in all of Europe where the natural vegetation remained untouched over large expanses was Eastern Europe. Information on the vegetation of this region however, remained mostly unavailable to western scientists although the ecological approach to botanical research originated in Eastern Europe. Heinrich Walter was born in Russia, studied Natural Sciences - with emphasis on botany - in Odessa and is familiar with all relevant Russian literature on ecology. This volume thus offers scientists worldwide a unique and comprehensive survey of "all" relevant research, including the mostly unknown literature published in Russian.

We shall limit our observations to the conditions in natural ecosystems, since it would be beyond the scope of this book to embark upon a consideration of secondary, man-made ecosystems. 2. Classification of the Geo-biosphere into Zonobiomes The biosphere is the thin layer of the earth's surface to which the phenomena connected with living matter are confined. On land, this comprises the lowest layer of the atmosphere permanently inhabited by living organisms and into which plants extend, as well as the root-containing portion of the lithosphere, which we term the soil. Living organisms are also found in all bodies of water, to the very depths of the oceans. In a watery medium, however, cycling of material is achieved by means other than those on land, and the organisms (plankton) are so different that aquatic ecosystems have to be dealt with separately. The biosphere is therefore subdivided into (a) the geo-biosphere comprising terrestrial ecosystems, and (b) the hydro-biosphere, comprising aquatic ecosystems, which is the field of hydrobiologists (oceanographers and limnologists) . Our studies are confined to the geo-biosphere (Walter 1976), which constitutes the habitat of man and is, therefore, of special interest. The prevailing climate, being the primary independent factor in the environment, can be used as a basis for further subdivision of the geo-biosphere since the formation of soil and type of vegetation are dependent upon it (see p. 3), and it has not yet been substantially influenced by man.

Organismus nicht. Erst wenn wir beriicksichtigen, daB aIle busal bedingten Vorgange auch gesteuert werden oder einen Regelkreis bilden, kommen wir dem Wesen des Organismus aIs einer natiirlichen Einheit naher. Wenn aber irgendwelche Vorgiinge gesteuert werden, so muB ein bestimmtes Ziel gegeben sein. Dies gilt fiir biologische Reaktionen gleichermaBen wie fiir automatisierte Betriebe. Ihre gesteuerten Mechanismen versteht man erst, wenn man das Ziel, das erreicht werden soIl, kennt. Bei einem Organismus ist dies letzten Endes seine Erhaltung in einer stets wechselnden Umwelt bis zur Aus- bildung der Fortpflanzungsorgane und der Erzeugung von N achkommen, wo- durch erst die Erhaltung der Art gesichert ist (vgl. S. 192). Jeder gesteuerte oder geregelte Mechanismus funktioniert nur unter bestimm- ten Voraussetzungen. Eine nicht vorgesehene StorgroBe (= AuBeneinfiuB) kann den Mechanismus zerstoren. Dasselbe gilt auch fiir einen Organismus, der nur in einer bestimmten Umwelt funktionsfahig ist. Seine Regelkreise, die einen bestimmten Zustand (die RegelgroBe), moglichst konstant halten, miissen jedoch flexibel sein, weil die natiirliche Umwelt stets wechselnd und in bestimmten Grenzen unbestandig ist. Die Steuerung wird unter vollkommen unnatiirlichen Be- dingungen im Laboratorium oder auch bei Versuchen im Freien, etwa infolge der Einwirkung von nicht-natiirlichen chemischen Verbindungen oder auch von natiirlichen Verbindungen in unnatiirlich hohen Konzentrationen, versagen. Als Folge davon wird der Organismus Abnormitaten aufweisen und geschadigt oder gar ganz zugrunde gehen.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Discvrsvs Historico-Ivridicvs De Archi-Cancellariatv Et Primatv S.R.I. Principis Abbatis Fvldensis Philipp Adam Ulrich, Heinrich Walter Wilhelm von Schildeck