Plant ecology.
Schulze ED, Beck E, Müller-Hohenstein K. 2005. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. $89·95 (hardback). 702 pp.
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) is one of the most comprehensive textbooks of plant ecology so far. The authors aim to ‘for the first time bring together and clearly organize the large subdisciplines of plant ecology’ and, to a large extent they have succeeded. The book is well written, and its more than 500 illustrations are beautifully laid out and well chosen to help the reader understand the theory. It is clearly suitable not only for its intended public, graduate students in biology, but also for undergraduates, while it provides a very useful reference for researchers in ecology and related fields. The book follows the different levels of biological integration starting at the molecular level, via whole plants, ecosystems and landscapes ultimately to the globe. Chapter 1 lays down the molecular basis for plant responses to stress. It is based on the idea that plants are nearly always stressed because the environmental factors that determine plant growth tend not be available at optimal levels. The chapter is easy to read and I particularly like the analogy with mechanical stress. However, it was somewhat surprising to see that the ubiquitous stress factor, nutrient limitation, was not included. Chapter 2 deals with whole-plant ecology from the perspective of balance; plants have to maintain a positive carbon balance, a certain water potential, nutrient level, etc. It gives a concise but clear overview of classical physiological ecology. Chapter 3 is about the ecology of ecosystems. It clearly lays out some of the new exciting fields in which plant ecologists should play a more prominent role, particularly biodiversity and ecosystem functions, although the section about the latter is disappointingly short. Chapter 4 deals with the temporary and spatial dynamics of species distribution. The first section on the historical developments is truly excellent, clearly stating the point that the ‘existence of species and communities may only be explained historically on the basis of knowledge of evolution and distribution’. The following section on spatial dynamics is not as well written. For example, section 4.2.1 on dispersal reads as a mere summation of definitions where a more conceptual approach would be easier to follow. Finally, Chapter 5 is about global plant ecology with a particular emphasis on the human influence on global changes in climate and biodiversity. In a sense it nicely summarizes much of the previous chapters while putting them into the context of the key global environmental questions that we are facing today. It clearly states that due to human activity ‘in a period of about 50 years the conditions required for human life are in jeopardy’.
The approach of working from the molecular to the global level is different from that of some other closely related books, which are written along a basic growth model of a plant, starting with photosynthesis (e.g. Crawley, 1997; Lambers et al., 1998). This is a sound approach, acknowledging that plant ecology brackets all levels of biological organization. However, for readers with limited physiological backgrounds this layout makes some parts of the book hard to read. For example, section 1.2 deals with adaptations to shade or excess light at the level of thylakoid membranes, photosystems, etc, without first establishing the roles of these components in photosynthesis. The latter process makes its entrance much later in the book in section 2.4.
The title ‘Plant ecology’ constitutes a large commitment to present all relevant aspects of the field. As already noted, the authors have mostly succeeded, but some aspects are notably missing. The section on respiration in Chapter 2 is rather short, which is especially unfortunate because later parts of the book deal with the global carbon balance in which respiration plays an important role: ‘Thus, the reaction of ecosystems to increases in global temperature is very dependent on respiration’. Models of population dynamics (e.g. matrix models) are hardly dealt with at all. This is a pity because population growth rates are often used as a proxy for fitness, and because population models play an important role in the sustainable use of natural resources, to which the book alludes in various places. Finally, applications of game theory (e.g. the concept of evolutionarily stable strategies) to understand the relationship between plant growth characteristics and stand structure are not discussed anywhere. This is especially surprising because section 3.1 does stress the point that ‘the plant does not exist on its own but is incorporated in a complicated structure where resources are also turned over by neighbours’.
Despite some of the criticism, I find this an excellent textbook. It provides an integrated understanding of plants from the molecular to the global level, and in doing so gives plant ecology the place it deserves: a scientific field that will play an increasingly important role in influencing the decision-making process regarding the sustainable use of our natural environment locally, regionally and world-wide.
LITERATURE CITED
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Crawly MJ. 1997. Plant ecology, 2nd edn. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Lambers H, Chapin III FS, Pons TL. 1998. Plant physiological ecology. New York: Springer.
Schulze ED, Beck E, Müller-Hohenstein K. 2002. Pflanzenökologie. Heidelberg: Springer.
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