Completing the primary genomic sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana was a major milestone, being the first plant genome and well established as the premiere model species in plant biology. Since working drafts of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome became available (Yu et al. 2002), it has become the s- ond-best model organism in plants representing monocotyledons. Understanding how the genome sequence comprehensively encodes de- lopmental programs and environmental responses is the next major ch- lenge for all plant genome projects. This requires functional characterization of genes, including identification of regulatory sequences. Several functional genomics approaches were initiated to decode the linear sequence of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, including full-length cDNA collections, microarrays, natural variation, knockout collections, and comparative sequence analysis (Borevitz and Ecker 2004). Genomics provides the ess- tial tools to speed up the research work of the traditional molecular gene- cist, and is now a scientific discipline in its own right (Borevitz and Ecker 2004).

Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences.
The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

With one volume published each year, this series keeps scientists and students current with the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. This present volume includes insightful reviews covering genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

Time and change characterise the natural world, but in the biological sciences, by comparison with spatial measurements, time is a somewhat neglected parameter. Structural analyses of great depth and elegance have taken our spatial understa- ing to atomic dimensions, where distances are measured in A. To obtain temporal measurements appropriate to this spatial scale, dynamics on an attosecond time- 18 scale (10 s) are required in order to visualise physico-chemical mechanisms (Baum and Zewail 2006). For certain specific reactions of molecular components obtained from biological sources (e. g. the formation of carboxyhaemoglobin by the oxygenation of haemoglobin), probing of picosecond reactions are important (Brunori et al. 1999). In plants, femtosecond lifetimes of excited states of chlo- phyll are key to the photosynthetic light reaction. These considerations underline the extreme range of dynamic interactions that are necessitated for an understa- ing of the living organism, for if we include the long history of evolutionary change 9 (Fenchel 2002), an upper limit to our studies would extend over about 3. 8 x 10 years (Fig. 1). When the dynamic range of biological processes is to be considered, we must be aware that the system as it performs in vivo is a heterarchy with interactions of great complexity that occur, not merely within a level but between levels, and often across widely-separated time domains. The living state is better considered to be homeodynamic rather than homeostatic (Yates 1992; Lloyd et al. 2001)."

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences.
The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences.The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, ecology, and vegetation science.