Biology

This book provides an overview of human-plant interactions and their social consequences, from the hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic Era to the 21st century molecular manipulation of crops. It links the latest advances in molecular genetics, climate research, and archaeology to give a new perspective on the evolution of agriculture and complex human societies across the world. Even today, our technologically advanced societies still rely on plants for basic food needs, not to mention clothing, shelter, medicines, and tools. This special relationship has tied together people and their chosen plants in mutual dependence for well over 50,000 years. Yet despite these millennia of intimate contact, people have only domesticated and cultivated a few dozen of the tens of thousands of edible plants. Crop domestication and agriculture then led directly to the evolution of the complex urban-based societies that have dominated much of human development over the past ten millennia. Thanks to the latest genomic studies, how, when, and where some of the most important crops came to be domesticated can now be explained, and the crucial roles of plant genetics, climatic change, and social organization in these processes. Indeed, it was their unique genetic organizations that ultimately determined which plants eventually became crops, rather than any conscious decisions by their human cultivators.

Based on work spanning a decade, this study of the Maquipucuna area on the western slopes of the Andes discusses the climate, vegetation, ecological relationships, and flora, and emphasizes the importance of the Maquipucuna area as a biological reserve. In addition to the checklist of the flora, which enumerates 1,650 species (including 228 species of pteridophytes and over 200 species of orchids), appendices give information on the floristic composition of communities, distribution of epiphytes, and elevational ranges of families and genera. The illustrations include a map, landscapes, and characteristic species.

This book integrates a diverse and scattered literature to produce a synthetic account of plant evolutionary ecology. The central theme is differentiation, both among and within species, in the contemporary flora of the Mediterranean basin. This theme is developed by linking population processes to species evolution, and by examining the variation and evolution of ecological function in the context of spatial habitat variation and regional history. The Mediterranean is a region with a complex geological and climatic history, and a highly heterogeneous landscape in which human activities have greatly modified local conditions and the spatial configuration of habitats. This book explores the evolutionary processes that have shaped plant evolution in the context of these major influences on vegetation. The book is structured around two central topics in evolutionary ecology: diversity and adaptation. The Mediterranean region is a hotspot of plant biodiversity, a key ingredient of which is its richness in endemic species. A primary question motivating this book concerns the role of historical factors and spatial environmental variation in the evolution of such endemism. The Mediterranean landscape is also characterized by dramatic variations in ecological conditions, often over short distances. A second focus is on the ecological and historical factors that mediate dispersal, reproduction, and adaptive trait variation in the Mediterranean mosaic.

This study, the result of nearly a quarter-century of research, examines the island biogeography of plants on continental islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. The book summarizes the diversity, dynamics, and distribution of the approximately three hundred species of plants on more than two hundred islands. The author uses his extensive data set to test various aspects of island biogeographic theory. His analysis, constrained by taxon and region, elucidates and enhances the understanding of the biogeographic patterns and dynamics. The author provides an overview of the basic theory, concepts, and analytical tools of island biogeography. Also discussed are island relaxation to lower equilibrium species numbers post-isolation, plant distributions variously limited by island area, isolation and climatic differences, adaptation to local abiotic and biotic environments within islands, and the evolution of different island phenotypes. The book concludes with a valuable consideration of equilibrium concepts and of the interplay of coexistence and competition.

Serpentine soils have long fascinated biologists for the specialized floras they support and the challenges they pose to plant survival and growth. This book focuses on what scientists have learned about major questions in earth history, evolution, ecology, conservation, and restoration from the study of serpentine areas, especially in California. Results from molecular studies offer insight into evolutionary patterns, while new ecological research examines both species and communities. The book highlights research whose breadth provides context and fresh insights into the evolution and ecology of stressful environments.

This thoroughly revised, entirely rewritten edition of what is the essential reference on California's diverse and ever-changing vegetation now brings readers a state-of-the-art view of California's plant ecosystems. Integrating decades of research, community ecologists and field botanists describe and classify California's vegetation types, identify environmental factors that determine the distribution of vegetation types, analyze the role of disturbance regimes in vegetation dynamics, chronicle change due to human activities, identify conservation issues, describe restoration strategies, and prioritize directions for new research. Several new chapters address statewide issues such as the historic appearance and impact of introduced and invasive plants, the soils of California, and more.

In modern agricultural politics, organic farming and genetic engineering occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. In the Ronald-Adamchak household, the world is not so black and white. Ronald is a professor of plant genetics at the University of California, Davis. Adamchak manages the student-run organic farm. Together, they're exploring the juncture where their methods can meet to ensure ecologically friendly farming. This book roughly chronicles one year in their lives. Through dialogue with friends and family, the authors thoughtfully explore the use of GE crops. The authors discuss the contents of their own pantry, what they choose to feed their children, and criteria for the use of GE in agriculture. From their personal vantage points, Ronald and Adamchak explain what geneticists and organic farmers actually do, and help readers distinguish between fact and fiction in the debate about GE crops. Each section of the book addresses a different issue related to the role of GE and organic farming in food production. Ronald provides a farmer's view of the philosophy and practice of organic farming and how it differs from conventional agriculture; Adamchak describes the tools and processes of genetic engineering, the potential ecological benefit of using GE technology to generate plants, and the associated risks. At the end of the book, they describe one of their typical family dinners, explain their choice to bring both genetically engineered and organic food to their table, and share some of their family's best recipes.

Tropical forests represent the world's most biodiverse ecosystems and play a key role in hydrology, carbon storage, and exchange. Many of the human-induced pressures these regions are facing, e.g. fragmentation and deforestation, have been widely reported and well documented. However, there have been surprisingly few efforts to synthesize cutting-edge science in the area of tropical forest interaction with atmospheric change. At a time when our global atmosphere is undergoing a period of rapid change, both in terms of climate and in the cycling of essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen, a thorough and up-to-date analysis is timely. This text explores the vigorous contemporary debate as to how rapidly tropical forests may be affected by atmospheric change, and what this may mean for their future.

Flowers are the beautiful and complex reproductive structures of the angiosperms, one of the most diverse and successful groups of living organisms. The underlying thesis of this book is that to understand fully plant development (and why flowers differ in shape, structure, and colour), it is necessary to understand why it is advantageous for them to look like they do. Conversely, in order to fully understand plant ecology, it is necessary to appreciate how floral structures have adapted and evolved. Uniquely, this book addresses flowers and flowering from both a molecular genetic perspective (considering flower induction, development, and self-incompatibility) and an ecological perspective (looking at the selective pressures placed on plants by pollinators, and the consequences for animal-plant co-evolution). This book first considers the evolution of flowers and the history of research into their development. This is followed by a detailed description of the processes which lead to flower production in model plants. The book then examines how flowers differ in shape, structure, and colour, and how these differences are generated. Finally, it assesses the role of these various aspects of floral biology in attracting pollinators and ensuring successful reproduction. In so doing, it provides the first truly integrated study of the topic — one that discusses both the how and why of flowering plant reproductive biology.