To comprehend the organizational principle of cellular functions at different levels, an integrative approach with large-scale experiments, the so-called omics data including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, is needed. Omics aims at the collective characterization and quantification of pools of biological molecules that translate into the structure, function, and dynamics of an organism or organisms. Currently, omics is an essential tool to understand the molecular systems that underlie various plant functions. Furthermore, in several plant species, the development of...

Soil is the most important natural non-renewable resource developed over a longer period of time due to weathering of rocks and subsequently enrichment of organic matter. Soil provides habitat for numerous microorganisms and serves as a natural medium for plant growth, thereby providing the plants with anchorage, nutrients and water to sustain the growth. Soil also serves as a universal sink for all types of pollutants, purifies ground water and is a major reserve of carbon in the universe. The role of soils to provide ecosystem services, maintenance of environmental/human health and ensuring...

The book provides an up-to-date account of mangrove forests from Asia, together with restoration techniques, and the management requirements of these ecosystems to ensure their sustainability and conservation. All aspects of mangroves and their conservation are critically re-examined. The book is divided into three sections presenting the distribution and status of mangrove ecosystems in Asia, the challenges they are facing, their issues and opportunities, and the management strategies for their conservation.

� Plant signalling has emerged as an integrated field which has become indispensable in recent times to study any biological process. It is now possible to view the different information's in a systems biology approach which has unravelled the association/ new processes and thus helped us enormously in understanding of the biological processes.

This book covers studies on the systematics of plant taxa and will include general vegetational aspects and ecological characteristics of plant life at altitudes above 1000 m. from different parts of the world. This volume also addresses how upcoming climate change scenarios will impact high altitude plant life. It presents case studies from the most important mountainous areas like the Himalayas, Caucasus and South America covering the countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kirghizia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Americas. The book will serve as...

In traditional medicine licorice roots have been used against treating many ailments including lung diseases, arthritis, kidney diseases, eczema, heart diseases, gastric ulcer, low blood pressure, allergies, liver toxicity, and certain microbial infections.

Underutilized crops have a great potential to alleviate hunger directly, through increasing food production in challenging environments where major crops are severely limited."Global Perspectives on Underutilized Crops" is therefore topical and highlights the unmet agricultural challenges that we face today.

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West.