The emerging multidisciplinary field of earth system science sets out to improve our understanding functioning ecosystems, at a global level across the entire planet. Stable Isotopes and Biosphere - Atmosphere Interactions looks to one of its most powerful tools - the application of stable isotope analyses - to understanding biosphere-atmosphere exchange of the greenhouse gases, and synthesizes much of the recent progress in this work.

Stable Isotopes and Biosphere - Atmosphere Interactions describes recent progress in understanding the mechanisms, processes and...

Vascular Transport in Plants provides an up-to-date synthesis of new research on the biology of long distance transport processes in plants. It is a valuable resource and reference for researchers and graduate level students in physiology, molecular biology, physiology, ecology, ecological physiology, development, and all applied disciplines related to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and biotechnology. The book considers long-distance transport from the perspective of molecular level processes to whole plant function, allowing readers to integrate information relating to vascular...

This 33-chapter volume presents a critical examination of the importance of stable isotopes in understanding key plant metabolic processes.

• Carbon isotope analyses for estimates of plant water use and metabolism
• Integrated estimates of stress impacts and life history in ecological systems
• Hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses for evaluating water sources and transpiration
• Use of stable isotopes in scaling from leaf to global levels
• Sections include: History and Theoretical Considerations, Ecological Aspects of Carbon Isotope Variation, Agricultural...

Animal Migration, Orientation, and Navigation presents the various aspects of animal migration, including the evolution of migration, climatic and meteorological influences, and bioenergetics. This book discusses the physiological control, sensory systems, orientation and navigation, and biological clocks and phenology aspects of animal migration.

Organized into five chapters, this book begins with an overview of the migration strategies of animals in the context of a space continuum. This text then explains the influence of short- and long-term climatic cycles on the spectrum of...

Agricultural crops are prominent features of an increasing number of variously perturbed ecosystems and the landscapes occupied by these ecosystems. Yet the ecology of agricultural-dominated landscapes is only now receiving the scientific attention it has long deserved. This attention has been stimulated by the realization that all agriculture must become sustainable year after year while leaving nearby ecosystems unaffected.

Ecology in Agriculture focuses exclusively on the ecology of agricultural ecosystems. The book is divided into four major sections. An introduction...

This book focuses on the interactive effects of environmental stresses with plant and ecosystem functions, especially with respect to changes in the abundance of carbon dioxide. The interaction of stresses with elevated carbon dioxide are presented from the cellular through whole plant ecosystem level. The book carefully considers not only the responses of the above-ground portion of the plant, but also emphasizes the critical role of below-ground (rhizosphere) components (e.g., roots, microbes, soil) in determining the nature and magnitude of these interactions.

* Will rising CO2 alter...

This book presents a whole-plant perspective on plant integrated responses to multiple stresses, including an analysis of how plants have evolved growth forms and phenological responses to cope with changing stress patterns in natural environments.

• Explores stress responses at both the structural and process levels
• Outlines structural, phenological, and physiological responses that optimize production under multiple stresses
• Combines physiological and evolutionary perspectives

A thorough revision and update of the first edition, this Second Edition is designed to create an awareness of the rapidly developing field of allelopathy. The author appraises existing knowledge in certain critical areas, such as roles of allelopathy in the prevention of seed decay and in the nitrogen cycle, the chemical nature of allelopathic compounds, factors affecting concentrations of allelochemics in plants, movement of allelochemics from plants and absorption and translocation by other plants, mechanisms of action of allelopathic agents, and factors determining effectiveness of...

Published ecological information on Latin American coasts is scarce, despite the growing need for a comprehensive examination of coastal processes on a global scale. This book brings together details on benthic marine algae, seagrasses, salt marsh, mangrove, and dune plant communities throughout Latin America.

Researchers and graduate students in plant ecology, marine biology, and environmental management will benefit from the valuable information in this book.

• Distribution and community ecology
• Modern research approaches
• Coastal management...

Coniferous forests are among the most important of ecosystems. These forests are widespread and influence both the financial and biological health of our globe. This book focuses attention on conifers and how these trees acquire, allocate, and utilize the resources that sustain this crucial productivity. An international team of experts has surveyed and synthesized information from an expanding area of inquiry. The first half of the book describes how resources are acquired both by means of photosynthesis and through root systems. The latter half of the volume focuses upon how resources are...