Trees have played countless roles in human history - by turns hopeful symbols of freedom, pioneering space travellers, keepers of ancient history and accessories to murder. From art to politics, science to crime, these are the stories of the trees that have shaped life on Earth. Neurobiologist and philosopher Stefano Mancuso brings his signature charm and eye for unforgettable detail to tell eight stories of trees that have rooted themselves in human history - from the red spruces that were made into Stradivarius' violins to the wooden ladder that solved 'The Crime of the Century'. Combining scientific vigour with his inimitable voice, Mancuso reveals the amazing ways that the world's green-print has shaped the course of our lives, issuing a passionate rallying cry for greater care and attention towards the plants that have helped us survive and thrive.

Roots represent half of the plant body and arguably the more interesting half. Despite its obvious importance for the whole plant, until recently our knowledge of the root apparatus was very limited, mostly due to the inadequacy of the techniques available. Recent advances in the visualization and measurement of roots have resulted in significant progress in our understanding of root architecture, growth and behaviour. In this book international experts highlight the most advanced techniques, both lab and field methods, and discuss them in detail. "Measuring Roots" combines academic and practical aspects of this topic, making it a universal handbook for all researchers and others interested in root-measuring methods. "

As plants see it, humans are not the masters of the Earth but only one of its most unpleasant and irksome residents. They have been on the planet for only about 300,000 years ago (nothing compared to the three billon years of plant evolution), yet have changed the conditions of the planet so drastically as to make it a dangerous place for their own survival. It's time for the plants to offer advice. In this playful, philosophical manifesto, Stefano Mancuso, expert on plant intelligence, presents a new constitution on which to build our future as beings respectful of the Earth and its inhabitants. These eight articles - the fundamental pillars on which plant life is based - must henceforth regulate all living beings.

Plant neurobiology is a newly emerging field of plant sciences. It covers signalling and communication at all levels of biological organization from molecules up to ecological communities. In this book, plants are presented as intelligent and social organisms with complex forms of communication and information processing.

Authors from diverse backgrounds such as molecular and cellular biology, electrophysiology, as well as ecology treat the most important aspects of plant communication, including the plant immune system, abilities of plants to recognize self, signal transduction, receptors, plant neurotransmitters and plant neurophysiology. Further, plants are able to recognize the identity of herbivores and organize the defence responses accordingly. The similarities in animal and plant neuronal/immune systems are discussed too. All these hidden aspects of plant life and behaviour will stimulate further intense investigations in order to understand the communicative plants in their whole complexity. "

This second edition of a well-received book focuses on rhythmic behaviour in plants, which regulates all developmental and adaptive responses and can thus be regarded as quintessential to life itself. The chapters provide a timely update on recent advances in this field and comprehensively summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the molecular and physiological mechanisms behind circadian and ultradian oscillations in plants, their physiological implications for growth and development and adaptive responses to a dynamic environment. Written by a diverse group of leading researchers, the book will spark the interest of readers from many branches of science: from physicists and chemists wishing to learn about the multi-faceted rhythms in plants, to biologists and ecologists involved in the state-of-the-art modelling of complex rhythmic phenomena.

In the last half century, because of the raising world population and because of the many environmental issues posed by the industrialization, the amount of arable land per person has declined from 0.32 ha in 1961-1963 to 0.21 ha in 1997-1999 and is expected to drop further to 0.16 ha by 2030 and therefore is a severe menace to food security (FAO 2006). At the same time, about 12 million ha of irrigated land in the developing world has lost its productivity due to waterlogging and salinity. Waterlogging is a major problem for plant cultivation in many regions of the world. The reasons are in part due to climatic change that leads to the increased number of precipitations of great intensity, in part to land degradation. Considering India alone, the total area suffering from waterlogging is estimated to be about 3.3 million ha (Bhattacharya 1992), the major causes of waterlogging include super- ous irrigation supplies, seepage losses from canal, impeded sub-surface drainage, and lack of proper land development. In addition, many irrigated areas are s- jected to yield decline because of waterlogging due to inadequate drainage systems. Worldwide, it has been estimated that at least one-tenth of the irrigated cropland suffers from waterlogging.

Trees have played countless roles in human history - by turns hopeful symbols of freedom, pioneering space travellers, keepers of ancient history and accessories to murder. From art to politics, science to crime, these are the stories of the trees that have shaped life on Earth. Neurobiologist and philosopher Stefano Mancuso brings his signature charm and eye for unforgettable detail to tell eight stories of trees that have rooted themselves in human history - from the red spruces that were made into Stradivarius' violins to the wooden ladder that solved 'The Crime of the Century'. Combining scientific vigour with his inimitable voice, Mancuso reveals the amazing ways that the world's green-print has shaped the course of our lives, issuing a passionate rallying cry for greater care and attention towards the plants that have helped us survive and thrive.

"In this thought-provoking, handsomely illustrated book, Italian neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso considers the fundamental differences between plants and animals and challenges our assumptions about which is the 'higher' form of life." -The Wall Street Journal "Fascinating...full of optimism...this quick, accessible read will appeal to anyone with interest in how plants continue to surprise us." -Library Journal Do plants have intelligence? Do they have memory? Are they better problem solvers than people? The Revolutionary Genius of Plants-a fascinating, paradigm-shifting work that upends everything you thought you knew about plants-makes a compelling scientific case that these and other astonishing ideas are all true. Plants make up eighty percent of the weight of all living things on earth, and yet it is easy to forget that these innocuous, beautiful organisms are responsible for not only the air that lets us survive, but for many of our modern comforts: our medicine, food supply, even our fossil fuels. On the forefront of uncovering the essential truths about plants, world-renowned scientist Stefano Mancuso reveals the surprisingly sophisticated ability of plants to innovate, to remember, and to learn, offering us creative solutions to the most vexing technological and ecological problems that face us today. Despite not having brains or central nervous systems, plants perceive their surroundings with an even greater sensitivity than animals. They efficiently explore and react promptly to potentially damaging external events thanks to their cooperative, shared systems; without any central command centers, they are able to remember prior catastrophic events and to actively adapt to new ones. Every page of The Revolutionary Genius of Plants bubbles over with Stefano Mancuso's infectious love for plants and for the eye-opening research that makes it more and more clear how remarkable our fellow inhabitants on this planet really are. In his hands, complicated science is wonderfully accessible, and he has loaded the book with gorgeous photographs that make for an unforgettable reading experience. The Revolutionary Genius of Plants opens the doors to a new understanding of life on earth.

This second edition of a well-received book focuses on rhythmic behaviour in plants, which regulates all developmental and adaptive responses and can thus be regarded as quintessential to life itself. The chapters provide a timely update on recent advances in this field and comprehensively summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the molecular and physiological mechanisms behind circadian and ultradian oscillations in plants, their physiological implications for growth and development and adaptive responses to a dynamic environment. Written by a diverse group of leading researchers, the book will spark the interest of readers from many branches of science: from physicists and chemists wishing to learn about the multi-faceted rhythms in plants, to biologists and ecologists involved in the state-of-the-art modelling of complex rhythmic phenomena.

In the last half century, because of the raising world population and because of the many environmental issues posed by the industrialization, the amount of arable land per person has declined from 0.32 ha in 1961-1963 to 0.21 ha in 1997-1999 and is expected to drop further to 0.16 ha by 2030 and therefore is a severe menace to food security (FAO 2006). At the same time, about 12 million ha of irrigated land in the developing world has lost its productivity due to waterlogging and salinity. Waterlogging is a major problem for plant cultivation in many regions of the world. The reasons are in part due to climatic change that leads to the increased number of precipitations of great intensity, in part to land degradation. Considering India alone, the total area suffering from waterlogging is estimated to be about 3.3 million ha (Bhattacharya 1992), the major causes of waterlogging include super- ous irrigation supplies, seepage losses from canal, impeded sub-surface drainage, and lack of proper land development. In addition, many irrigated areas are s- jected to yield decline because of waterlogging due to inadequate drainage systems. Worldwide, it has been estimated that at least one-tenth of the irrigated cropland suffers from waterlogging.

Roots represent half of the plant body and arguably the more interesting half. Despite its obvious importance for the whole plant, until recently our knowledge of the root apparatus was very limited, mostly due to the inadequacy of the techniques available. Recent advances in the visualization and measurement of roots have resulted in significant progress in our understanding of root architecture, growth and behaviour. In this book international experts highlight the most advanced techniques, both lab and field methods, and discuss them in detail. "Measuring Roots" combines academic and practical aspects of this topic, making it a universal handbook for all researchers and others interested in root-measuring methods. "

Plants are unique as their development and morphogenesis are plastic throughout their lives. They continuously monitor diverse biotic and abiotic parameters of their environment and these sensory perceptions shape their organs and bodies. Although genes are critical, the final form and architecture of above-ground organs, and es- cially of root systems, are determined by their sensory activities associated with motoric responses (Friml 2003; Hodge 2009). Sensory plant biology and plant el- trophysiology were two lively disciplines until the late 1970s (Bunning 1959; Haupt and Feinleib 1979) but then, for somewhat obscure reasons, they showed no further development. In the last few years, however, there have been numerous advances in plant sciences. These necessitate not just a revival of plant electrophysiology and sensory biology, but also the introduction of plant neurobiology, which includes also plant sensory ecology (Balu ka et al. 2006a; Brenner et al. 2006). First of all, and contrary to all "mechanistic" predictions based on the high turgor pressure of plant cells, endocytosis has been found to be an essential process of plant cells which impinges upon almost all aspects of plant life ( amaj et al. 2005, 2006). Moreover, recent advances in plant molecular biology have identified, besides classic n- rotransmitters, also several proteins typical of animal neuronal systems, such as acetylcholine esterases, glutamate receptors, GABA receptors, and endocannabinoid signaling components, as well as indicating signaling roles for ATP, NO, and re- tive oxygen species (Balu ka et al. 2006b)."

Plant neurobiology is a newly emerging field of plant sciences. It covers signalling and communication at all levels of biological organization - from molecules up to ecological communities. In this book, plants are presented as intelligent and social organisms with complex forms of communication and information processing.

Authors from diverse backgrounds such as molecular and cellular biology, electrophysiology, as well as ecology treat the most important aspects of plant communication, including the plant immune system, abilities of plants to recognize self, signal transduction, receptors, plant neurotransmitters and plant neurophysiology. Further, plants are able to recognize the identity of herbivores and organize the defence responses accordingly. The similarities in animal and plant neuronal/immune systems are discussed too. All these hidden aspects of plant life and behaviour will stimulate further intense investigations in order to understand the communicative plants in their whole complexity.

Accompanies an exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemparain offering artistic and scientific visions on trees

Omnipresent and essential to life, trees have been underestimated by biologists. But in recent years, they have been the subject of scientific discoveries that have allowed us to see these oldest and largest members of the community of living beings in a new light. Capable of sensory perception, showing complex communication skills, living in symbiosis with many other species and influencing the climate, trees are equipped with unexpected faculties whose discovery confirms what indigenous, traditional and local communities had long acknowledged.

Featuring works by contemporary artists including forest people, scientific imagery, films, photographs and sound installations, the exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, strives to highlight the beauty, ingenuity and biological richness of trees, allowing us to see and hear these impressive protagonists of the living world that now find themselves also under increasing threat. Through paintings, drawings, photographs, scientific images, maps and texts by specialists, the catalogue published to accompany the exhibition invites the reader to dive into the fascinating and beautiful world of trees.

A leading plant scientist offers a new understanding of the botanical world and a passionate argument for intelligent plant life. Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? For centuries, philosophers and scientists have argued that plants are unthinking and inert, yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged this idea, shedding new light on the complex interior lives of plants. In Brilliant Green, leading scientist Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another- showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.