Perspectives in Plant Ecology and Environmental Biology

Perspectives in Plant Ecology and Environmental Biology
Author: Prithipal Singh
Publisher: Scientific Publishers
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2006-03-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9387741354

This volume commemorates the Golden Jubilee Year of the establishment of Kirorimal College. This prestigious institution was honoured by the gracious presence of the First President of India, Dr. Rajindra Prasad who laid the foundation of the college building.This commemorative volume focuses attention on the growing awareness about plant ecology and environment biology. The different contributions present an up-to-date, detailed and balanced overview of the current knowledge within specific topics.Man has interacted with nature in various ways since the dawn of civilization. Primitive societies ensured that a proper balance was maintained. The situation has changed by the various developmental activities of man. We are losing our natural resources, biodiversity, genetic diversity, and are unable to manage nature. The consequences are becoming apparent in the form of drought, floods, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, climate change, melting of snow, rising of water levels in coastal areas, desertification, etc. These concern ecologists/ environmentalists and should receive adequate attention by students who study ecology.In this volume, emphasis has been laid on areas such as Climate Change, Environmental Laws, Biodiversity Act, Intellectual Property Rights, Mineral Industry and Environment, Remote Sensing, GIS and the environment, Diversity and Distribution of wild relatives of crop plants, Sustainable agriculture, Management of Protected Areas, Wetland ecosystems, and Coastal Erosion.The volume is meant to serve as useful reference book for graduate and post-graduate students.

Ecology and the Environment

Ecology and the Environment
Author: Russell K. Monson
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-10-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781461475002

In this book, plant biology is considered from the perspective of plants and their surrounding environment, including both biotic and abiotic interactions. The intended audience is undergraduate students in the middle or final phases of their programs of study. Topics are developed to provide a rudimentary understanding of how plant-environment interactions span multiple spatiotemporal scales, and how this rudimentary knowledge can be applied to understand the causes of ecosystem vulnerabilities in the face of global climate change and expansion of natural resource use by human societies. In all chapters connections are made from smaller to larger scales of ecological organization, providing a foundation for understanding plant ecology. Where relevant, environmental threats to ecological systems are identified and future research needs are discussed. As future generations take on the responsibility for managing ecosystem goods and services, one of the most effective resources that can be passed on is accumulated knowledge of how organisms, populations, species, communities and ecosystems function and interact across scales of organization. This book is intended to provide some of that knowledge, and hopefully provide those generations with the ability to avoid some of the catastrophic environmental mistakes that prior generations have made.

Plant Ecophysiology

Plant Ecophysiology
Author: Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 562
Release: 1996-12-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780471131571

Twenty-nine, prominent, international researchers provide contributions which deal with understanding the basic ecophysiological and molecular principles governing the functioning of plant systems in relation to their environment. Divided into two headings: biotic and abiotic; the first consists of abiotic, natural environmental factors--light, ultraviolet radiation, chilling and freezing, high temperatures, drought, flooding, salt and trace metals. The latter half presents anthropogenic aspects including allelochemicals, herbicides, polyamines, air pollutants, carbon dioxide, radioisotopes and fire.

Biophysical Ecology

Biophysical Ecology
Author: David M. Gates
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2012-04-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0486140792

This classic and highly influential text presents a uniquely comprehensive view of the field of biophysical ecology. In its analytical interpretation of the ecological responses of plants and animals to their environments, it draws upon studies of energy exchange, gas exchange, and chemical kinetics. The first four chapters offer a preliminary treatment of the applications of biophysical ecology, discussing energy and energy budgets and their applications to plants and animals, and defining radiation laws and units. Succeeding chapters concern the physical environment, covering the topics of radiation, convection, conduction, and evaporation. The spectral properties of radiation and matter are reviewed, along with the geometrical, instantaneous, daily, and annual amounts of both shortwave and longwave radiation. The book concludes with more elaborate analytical methods for the study of photosynthesis in plants and energy budgets in animals, in addition to animal and plant temperature responses. This text will prove of value to students and environmental researchers from a variety of fields, particularly ecology, agronomy, forestry, botany, and zoology.

Plant-Environment Interactions

Plant-Environment Interactions
Author: František Baluška
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2009-03-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540892303

Our image of plants is changing dramatically away from passive entities merely subject to environmental forces and organisms that are designed solely for the accumulation of photosynthate. Plants are revealing themselves to be dynamic and highly sensitive organisms that actively and competitively forage for limited resources, both above and below ground, organisms that accurately gauge their circumstances, use sophisticated cost-benefit analysis, and take clear actions to mitigate and control diverse environmental threats. Moreover, plants are also capable of complex recognition of self and non-self and are territorial in behavior. They are as sophisticated in behavior as animals but their potential has been masked because it operates on time scales many orders of magnitude less than those of animals. Plants are sessile organisms. As such, the only alternative to a rapidly changing environment is rapid adaptation. This book will focus on all these new and exciting aspects of plant biology.

Perspectives in Ecological Theory

Perspectives in Ecological Theory
Author: Jonathan Roughgarden
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2014-07-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400860180

This volume presents an overview of current accomplishments and future directions in ecological theory. The twenty-three chapters cover a broad range of important topics, from the physiology and behavior of individuals or groups of organisms, through population dynamics and community structure, to the ecology of ecosystems and the geochemical cycles of the entire biosphere. The authors focus on ways in which theory, whether expressed mathematically or verbally, can contribute to defining and solving fundamental problems in ecology. A second aim is to highlight areas where dialogue between theorists and empiricists is likely to be especially rewarding. The authors are R. M. Anderson, C. W. Clark, M. L. Cody, J. E. Cohen, P. R. Ehrlich, M. W. Feldman, M. E. Gilpin, L. J. Gross, M. P. Hassell, H. S. Horn, P. Kareiva, M.A.R. Koehl, S. A. Levin, R. M. May, L. D. Mueller, R. V. O'Neill, S. W. Pacala, S. L. Pimm, T. M. Powell, H. R. Pulliam, J. Roughgarden, W. H. Schlesinger, H. H. Shugart, S. M. Stanley, J. H. Steele, D. Tilman, J. Travis, and D. L. Urban. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Sulfur in Plants

Sulfur in Plants
Author: Malcolm J. Hawkesford
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007-03-07
Genre: Science
ISBN: 140205887X

This book presents the latest findings on how plants respond physiologically to sulfur in their environment. It combines an ecosystems approach with new insights at the molecular and biochemical level. Key areas are explored to assess the functions and implications of this essential plant nutrient in a range of natural, semi-natural and anthropogenic environments. The result is an important new reference on the relationships between plants and sulfur.

Perspectives on Plant Competition

Perspectives on Plant Competition
Author: James Grace
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 499
Release: 2012-12-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0323148107

Perspectives on Plant Competition is mainly about addressing the many different perspectives in plant competition and finding a common ground among them. Its aim is that through this common ground, new theories can be created. Encompassing 20 chapters, this book is divided into three parts. Part I, Perspectives on the Determinants of Competitive Success, consists of eight chapters. This section deals mainly on the question of determination of competitive success. Different writers put forward various definitions of competition and competitive success to shed light on the question at hand. In the second part of this book, an opposing set of views regarding the consequences of competitive interactions for the plant community structure is provided. This section emphasizes the idea that competition is not the sole force in natural communities. Each chapter in this part focuses on a certain aspect of competition as seen in different communities – across and within habitats – and systems. Part III, which comprises of four chapters, focuses on the competition within the context of interaction of plants with organisms on the other trophic levels. The chapters set forth the idea that competition depends on the impacts of herbivores, parasites, and symbionts. The concluding part of the book greatly emphasizes the need to integrate the mechanisms of competition into the framework of the entire food web.

Opportunities in Biology

Opportunities in Biology
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies
Total Pages: 471
Release: 1989-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309039274

Biology has entered an era in which interdisciplinary cooperation is at an all-time high, practical applications follow basic discoveries more quickly than ever before, and new technologiesâ€"recombinant DNA, scanning tunneling microscopes, and moreâ€"are revolutionizing the way science is conducted. The potential for scientific breakthroughs with significant implications for society has never been greater. Opportunities in Biology reports on the state of the new biology, taking a detailed look at the disciplines of biology; examining the advances made in medicine, agriculture, and other fields; and pointing out promising research opportunities. Authored by an expert panel representing a variety of viewpoints, this volume also offers recommendations on how to meet the infrastructure needsâ€"for funding, effective information systems, and other supportâ€"of future biology research. Exploring what has been accomplished and what is on the horizon, Opportunities in Biology is an indispensable resource for students, teachers, and researchers in all subdisciplines of biology as well as for research administrators and those in funding agencies.

Ecological and Environmental Science: A Research Perspective

Ecological and Environmental Science: A Research Perspective
Author: Prof. Dr. Nirmal Kumar, J.I.
Publisher: Google Book Publishers
Total Pages: 825
Release:
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

The book “Ecological and Environmental Science: A Research Perspective” is a compilation of authors' original research papers, scientific articles, review articles, popular articles, general articles, and short notes on forest ecology, wetland ecology, plant ecology, bird ecology, and animal ecology. The book is a perfect amalgamation of burgeoning and thrust topics spanning biodiversity, and conservation and management of floral and faunal elements including ecology and biodiversity of phytoplankton, zooplankton, aquatic macrophytes, mangroves, terrestrial plants, animals (butterflies, reptiles, mammals) and birds. It covers ecological and environmental factors affecting abiotic and biotic components prevailed in forest, desert, grassland and wetland habitats and ecosystems. The present book highlights field studies and laboratory investigations carried out by the authors during their research journey of 22 years (1998-2020). It discusses phenology, ethnobotanical, ethnomedicinal and aesthetic values of plants, resource use patterns by local inhabitants, socio-cultural aspects, livelihood dependency, rare and endangered plants, animals and birds, anthropogenic pressures, conservation and management strategies of endemic, exotic, and invasive species, and so on. The book covers unique and promising research topics e.g. hydrochemistry, geochemistry, biomonitoring of heavy metals in aquatic and terrestrial plants, metal remediation, environmental modeling, environmental archaeology, environmental bioindicators, environmental forensics, etc. The authors believes that this book is a perfect blend of their research work on two integral branches of biology i.e. ecology and environmental science, which will undoubtedly enrich and enhance the knowledge and awareness of laymen and scientific community world over especially in the field of ecology and biodiversity of plants, animals, and birds, associated with physical, chemical, biological, ecological and environmental factors. The present book would certainly be useful and handy as a ready-reference material for students, academicians, researchers, scientists, ecological and environmental consultants, restoration specialists, practitioners, conservationists, and biodiversity managers at regional, national and global platform.