Table of Contents

Methods in Comparative Functional Ecology. Ecological Significance of Inherent Variation in Relative Growth Rate. Architecture, Ecology, and Evolution of Plant Crowns. The Structure and Function of Root Systems. Water Relations and Hydraulic Architecture. Exploitation of Changing Environments. Acquisition, Use and Loss of Nutrients. Functional Attributes in Mediterranean-type Ecosystems. Tropical Forests: Structure, Nutrition, and Functional Groups. Plant Diversity in Tropical Forests. Arctic Ecology. Plant Life in Antarctica. Plant Interactions: Facilitation. Plant Interactions: Competition. Plant-herbivore Interactions: Beyond a Binary Vision. Ecology of Reproduction. Seed and Seedling Ecology. Soil Controls of Vegetation. Resistance to Air Pollutants. Molecular Ecology. Canopy Photosynthesis Modeling. Ecological Applications of Remote Sensing at Multiple Scales. Generalization in Functional Plant Ecology: the Species-Sampling Problem, Plant Ecology Strategy Schemes, and Phylogeny.

About the Author

Fernando Valladares, Francisco Pugnaire

Reviews

"Pugnaire and Valladares have managed to pull together a wide range of subjects with the depth and breadth of a series of essays, but the accessibility of a textbook."
—Annals of Biology, Oxford Journals, vol. 102 no. 5"…a well-structured handbook covering most trends in the field with interesting details. It is highly recommended not only to ecologists but to all biologists"
—Photosynthetica

"…an admirable job of outlining a research landscape which will likely grow in importance in the post-genomics era as plant biologists return to the long-standing question of understanding plant function diversity, or, in other words, understanding why there are so many ways of being an evolutionary successful plant."
—Phytochemistry

"…a highly scientific work…responds to a wide range of needs"
—Advances in Horticultural Science

"…is of great interest to researchers involved in sustainable forestry…definitely on the highly recommended list."
—Journal of Sustainable Forestry"This volume contains comprehensive, authoritative original reviews of numerous, wide-ranging topics in this approach to plant ecology. The reviews by well-chosen, often internationally recognized experts are quite readable, on target, and very well documented … . Almost without exception, every chapter provides an excellent, accessible perspective and introduction to the field and its current status. Highly recommended."
—W. Loescher, Michigan State in CHOICE, Vol. 45, No. 9, 2008