The central thesis for plant ecology is that climate exerts the dominant control on the distribution of the major vegetation types of the world. This book sets out to examine this often neglected area in two ways. In the first part the author analyses the distribution of species in relation to climate over different scales of time and place. In the second, he reviews the various approaches to explaining observed correlation between plant distribution and climate, and to establishing the mechanisms of control in physiological and biochemical terms. Dr Woodward is an authority on plant-climate...

Lee Frelich provides a major contribution to the study of temperate-zone forest dynamics by considering three important themes: the combined influence of wind, fire, and herbivory on the successional trajectories and structural characteristics of forests; the interaction of deciduous and evergreen tree species to form mosiacs; and the significance of temporal and spatial scale with regard to the overall impact of disturbances. These themes are explored via case studies from the forests in the Lake States of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, where the presence of large primary forest remnants...

This volume provides the first comprehensive summary of how plant, animal, and microbial communities develop under the harsh conditions following dramatic natural disturbances. The authors examine the basic principles that determine ecosystem development and apply the general rules to the urgent practical need for promoting the reclamation of damaged lands. Written for ecologists concerned with disturbance, landscape dynamics, restoration, life histories, invasions, modeling, soil formation and community or population dynamics, this book also serves as an authoritative text for graduate...

Forces of nature and human intervention lead to innumerable local, regional and sometimes global changes in plant community patterns. Regardless of the causes and the intensity of change, ecosystems are often naturally able to recover most of their attributes through natural succession. In this thoughtful and provocative new book, Fakhri Bazzaz integrates and synthesizes information on how disturbance changes the environment, how species function, coexist, and share or compete for resources in populations and communities, and how species replace each other over successional time. It...

Mutualistic interactions between ants and plants involve rewards offered by plants and services performed by ants in a mutually advantageous relationship. The rewards are principally food and/or nest sites, and ants in turn perform a number of services for plants: they disperse and plant seeds; they protect foliage, buds, and reproductive structures from enemies such as herbivores and seed predators; they fertilize plants with essential nutrients; and they may sometimes function as pollinators. In this book, initially published in 1985, Professor Beattie reviews the fascinating natural...