Much of what is considered conventional wisdom about succession is not as clear cut as it is generally believed. Yet, the importance of succession in ecology is undisputed since it offers a real insight into the dynamics and structure of all plant communities. Part monograph and part conceptual treatise, An Integrative Approach to Successional Dynamics presents a unifying conceptual framework for dynamic plant communities and uses a unique long-term data set to explore the utility of that framework. The fourteen chapters, each written in a nontechnical style and accompanied by numerous illustrations and examples, cover diverse aspects of succession, including community, population and disturbance dynamics, diversity, community assembly, heterogeneity, functional ecology and biological invasion. This unique text will be a great source of reference for researchers and graduate students in ecology and plant biology, as well as others with an interest in the subject.

A presentation of key findings and insights from over two decades of research, education, and community engagement in the acclaimed Baltimore Ecosystem Study In a world of more than seven billion people-who mostly reside in cities and towns-the Baltimore Ecosystem Study is recognized as a pioneer in modern urban social-ecological science. After two decades of research, education, and community engagement, there are insights to share, generalizations to examine, and research needs to highlight. This timely volume synthesizes the key findings, melds the perspectives of different disciplines, and celebrates the benefits of interacting with diverse communities and institutions in improving Baltimore's ecology. These widely applicable insights from Baltimore contribute to our understanding the ecology of other cities, provide a comparison for the global process of urbanization, and inform establishment of urban ecological research elsewhere. Comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and highly original, it gives voice to the wide array of specialists who have contributed to this living urban laboratory.