Plants And Vegetation

Plants make up 99.9 percent of the world's living matter, provide food and shelter, and control the Earth's climate. The study of plant ecology is therefore essential to understanding the biological functions and processes of the biosphere. This vibrant introductory textbook integrates important classical themes with recent ideas, models and data. The book begins with the origin of plants and their role in creating the biosphere as the context for discussing plant functional types and evolutionary patterns. The coverage continues logically through the exploration of causation with chapters, amongst others, on resources, stress, competition, predation, and mutualism. The book concludes with a chapter on conservation, addressing the concern that as many as one-third of all plant species are at risk of extinction. Each chapter is enriched with striking and unusual examples of plants (e.g., stone plants, carnivorous plants) and plant habitats (e.g., isolated tropical tepui, arctic cliffs). Paul Keddy writes in a lively and thought-provoking style which will appeal to students at all levels.

An accessible account of the ways in which the world's plant life affects the climate. It covers everything from tiny local microclimates created by plants to their effect on a global scale. If you’ve ever wondered how vegetation can create clouds, haze and rain, or how plants have an impact on the composition of greenhouse gases, then this book is required reading.

Hawaiian Plant Life has been written with both the layperson and professional interested in Hawai‘i’s natural history and flora in mind. In addition to significant text describing landforms and vegetation, the evolution of Hawaiian flora, and the conservation of native species, the book includes almost 875 color photographs illustrating nearly two-thirds of native Hawaiian plant species as well as a concise description of each genus and species shown. The work can be used either as a stand-alone reference or as a companion to the two-volume Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i. Learning more about threatened and endangered plants is essential to conserving them, and there is no more endangered flora in the world today than that of the Hawaiian Islands. Striking species complexes such as the silverswords and the remarkable lobeliads represent unique stories of adaptive radiation that make the Hawai‘i a living laboratory for evolution. Public appreciation for Hawaiian biodiversity requires outreach and education that will determine the future conservation of this rich heritage, and Hawaiian Plant Life has been designed to help fill that need.

This book provides an up-to-date account of the current understanding of climate change and global warming related to environment, climate, plant and vegetation growth. The aim of this book is to provide a platform for scientists and academics world-wide to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in the area of plant and vegetation growth related to climate change. Over the next decades, it is predicted that billions of people, particularly those in developing countries, face shortages of water and food and greater risks to health and life as a result of climate change. Concerted global action is needed to enable developing countries to adapt to the effects of climate change that are happening now and will worsen in the future. The book will also enhance the understanding on issues related to climate change, giving a clear indication of a looming global warming crisis. Addressing global climate change is a monumental battle that can only be fought by the leaders of tomorrow, but future leaders are molded through education and shaped by the leaders of today.

Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties, Second Edition, is a thoroughly updated and comprehensive new edition of the very successful Plant Strategies and Vegetative Processes, which controversially proposed the existence of widely-recurring plant functional types with predictable relationships to vegetation structure and dynamics. This second edition uses evidence from many parts of the world to re-examine these concepts in the light of the enormous expansion in the literature. Features include: * A new section covering all aspects of ecosystem properties * New chapters on Assembling of Communities Rarification and Extinction Colonisation and Invasion * Principles and methodologies of a range of international tests including case study examples * Chapter summaries for a quick reference guide * Index of species names Written in a very readable style, this book is an invaluable reference source for researchers in the areas of plant, animal, and community ecology, conservation and land management. 'Written by one of the foremost authorities in the field, summarising over 35 years of research. A book all plant ecologists will want to read.' - Jonathan Silvertown, Department of Biological Sciences, The Open University, UK. 'The coverage is outstanding and comprehensive.' - Simon A. Levin, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, USA

Understanding ecosystem structure and function requires familiarity with the techniques, knowledge and concepts of the three disciplines of plant physiology, remote sensing and modelling. This is the first textbook to provide the fundamentals of these three domains in a single volume. It then applies cross-disciplinary insights to multiple case studies in vegetation and landscape science. A key feature of these case studies is an examination of relationships among climate, vegetation structure and vegetation function, to address fundamental research questions. This book is for advanced students and researchers who need to understand and apply knowledge from the disciplines of plant physiology, remote sensing and modelling. It allows readers to integrate and synthesise knowledge to produce a holistic understanding of the structure, function and behaviour of forests, woodlands and grasslands.

This Work Studies In Detail The Various Plant-Communities And Analyses How Plants Or Plant-Communities Adjust Their Forms And Modes Of Behaviour To Different Actually Operating Factors, Such As The Amounts Of Available Water, Heat, Light, Nutriment Etc. After An Introduction To Ecological Plant-Geography And Ecological Botany, The External Factors Affecting The Plant S Economy And Their Impact Upon The Structure Of The Plant, Its Life Duration And The Topographical Distribution Of Species, Has Been Discussed In Section I Of The Volume. Further, The Various Plant-Communities Have Been Divided Into 13 Ecological Classes On The Basis Of Edaphic And Climatic Distinctions And Have Been Treated In General In Sections Ii And Iii, Followed By Their Specific Treatment In Sections Iv To Svi. Before Coming To A Close, The Book Has Another Useful Section That Deals With The Struggle Between Plant-Communities, An Extensive Bibliography And Also A Comprehensive Index That Makes References Hunting Easier. Already Translated Into Various Languages, This Pioneering Work On Ecological Plant-Geography Should Be A Great Attraction For Every Study And Scholar Of Botany. Contents Introduction: Floristic And Oecological Plant-Geography, Growth-Forms, Plant-Communities, Plan Of This Book; Section I: Oecological Factors And Their Action; Light, Heat, Atmospheric Humidity And Precipitations, Movements Of The Air, Nature Of The Nutrient Substratum, Structure Of The Soil, Air In The Soil, Water In The Soil, Temperature Of Soil, Depth Of The Soil, The Upper Layers Of The Soil And The Subsoil, Nutriment In Soil, Kinds Of Soil, Are The Chemical Or The Physical Characters Of Soil The More Important?, The Effect Of A Non-Living Covering Over Vegetation, Effect Of A Living Vegetable Covering On Soil, The Activity Of Animals And Plants In Soil, Exposure, Orographic And Other Factors; Section Ii: Communal Life Of Organisms; Reciprocal Relations Among Organisms, Interference By Man, Symbiosis Of Plants With Animals, Symbiosis Of Plants With One Another, Mutualism, Commensalism, Plant-Communities; Section Iii: Adaptations Of Aquatic And Terrestrial Plants Oecological Classification; Aquatic And Terrestrial Plants, Adaptations Of Water-Plants (Hydrophytes), Adaptations Of Land-Plants, Regulation Of Transpiration In Land-Plant, Absorption Of Water By Land-Plants, Storage Of Water By Land-Plants Water-Reservoirs, Other Structural Characters And Growth-Forms Of Land-Plants, And Especially Of Xerophytes, Oecological Classification, Physiognomy Of Vegetation, Formations Associations Varieties Of Associations; Section Iv: Hydrophytes Formations Of Aquatic Plants; Oecological Factors, Formations Of Aquatic Plants, Plankton-Formation, Cryoplankton, Vegetation Of Ice And Snow, Hydrocharid-Formation Of Pleuston, Lithophilous Benthos, Benthos Of Loose Soil; Section V: Helophytes Marsh-Plants; Adaptations Formations, Reed-Swamp Of Reed-Formation, Bush-Swamp And Forest-Swamp Of Fresh Water; Section Vi: Oxylophytes Formations On Sour (Acid) Soil; Xeromorphy Formations, Low-Moor Formation, Grass-Heath, Tussock Formation, High-Moor Formation, Moss-Tundra Or Moss-Heath, Lichen-Tundra Of Lichen-Heath, Dwarf-Shrub Heath, Bush And Forest On Acid Humus Soil; Section Vii: Halophytes Formations On Saline Soil; Introductory General Remarks On Halophytes, Adaptations Of Halophytes, Lothophilous Halophytes, Psammophilous Halophytes, Pelophilous Halophytes, Salt-Swamp And Salt-Desert, Littoral Swamp-Forest, Mangrove; Section Viii: Lithophytes, Formations On Rocks; Rocky Country, Lithophytes, Chasmophytes, Formations On Shingle And Rubble, Section Ix: Psychrophytes, Formations On Cold Soil; Climatic Conditions In Subglacial Fell-Fields, Adaptation Of Species In Subglacial Fell-Fields, Subglacial Fell-Field Formations; Section X: Psammophytes, Formations On Sand And Gravel; Oecological Factors, Formations, Shifting Or White, Sand Dunes, Stationary Or Grey, Sand-Dune, Sand-Fields, Dune-Heath, Dune-Bushland, Dune-Forest, Other Examples Of Psammophilous Vegetation; Section Xi: Eremophytes Formations On Desert And Steppe; Oecological Factors, Formations, Desert, Shrub-Steppe, Grass-Steppe, Sibljak; Section Xii: Chersophytes, Formations On Waste Land; Waste Herbage, Bushland On Dry Soil; Section Xiii: Psilophytes, Savannah-Formations; Savannah-Formations, Thorny Savannah, True Savannah, Savannah-Forest; Section Xiv: Sclerophyllous Formations, Bush And Forest; Sclerophyllous Vegetation And Formations, Garigue, Tomillares, Maqui: Sclerophyllous Scrub, Sclerophyllous Forest; Section Xv: Coinferous Formations, Forest; Evergreen Coniferae; Section Xvi: Mesophytes; Mesophytic Vegetation And Formations, Arctic And Alpine Mat-Grassland And Mat-Herbage, Meadow, Pasture On Cultivated Soil, Mesophytic Bushland, Deciduous Dicotylous Forest, Evergreen Dicotylous Forest; Section Xvii: Struggle Between Plant Communities; Conditions Of The Struggle, The Peopling Of New Soil, Changes In Vegetation Induced By Slow Changes In Soil Fully Occupied By Plants, Change Of Vegetation Without Change Of Climate Or Of Soil, The Weapons Of Species, Rare Species, Origin Of Species.

Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/vandermaarelfranklin/vegetationecology. Vegetation Ecology, 2nd Edition is a comprehensive, integrated account of plant communities and their environments. Written by leading experts in their field from four continents, the second edition of this book: covers the composition, structure, ecology, dynamics, diversity, biotic interactions and distribution of plant communities, with an emphasis on functional adaptations; reviews modern developments in vegetation ecology in a historical perspective; presents a coherent view on vegetation ecology while integrating population ecology, dispersal biology, soil biology, ecosystem ecology and global change studies; tackles applied aspects of vegetation ecology, including management of communities and invasive species; includes new chapters addressing the classification and mapping of vegetation, and the significance of plant functional types Vegetation Ecology, 2nd Edition is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduates and researchers and teachers in plant ecology, geography, forestry and nature conservation. Vegetation Ecology takes an integrated, multidisciplinary approach and will be welcomed as an essential reference for plant ecologists the world over.