| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|
| dc.contributor.author | Lambers, Hans | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Chapin, F. Stuart | - |
| dc.contributor.author | Pons, Thijs L. | - |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-04-19T06:02:38Z | - |
| dc.date.available | 2021-04-19T06:02:38Z | - |
| dc.date.issued | 2008 | - |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 978-0-387-78341-3 | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/66 | - |
| dc.description | The individual is engaged in a struggle for existence (Darwin). That struggle may be
of two kinds: The acquisition of the resources needed for establishment and growth
from a sometimes hostile and meager environment and the struggle with competing
neighbors of the same or different species. In some ways, we can define physiology
and ecology in terms of these two kinds of struggles. Plant ecology, or plant sociol-
ogy, is centered on the relationships and interactions of species within communities
and the way in which populations of a species are adapted to a characteristic range
of environments. Plant physiology is mostly concerned with the individual and its
struggle with its environment. At the outset of this book, the authors give their
definition of ecophysiology, arriving at the conclusion that it is a point of view about
physiology. A point of view that is informed, perhaps, by knowledge of the real
world outside the laboratory window. A world in which, shall we say, the light
intensity is much greater than the 200–500 mmol photons m 2 s 1 used in too many
environment chambers, and one in which a constant 208C day and night is a great
rarity. The standard conditions used in the laboratory are usually regarded as
treatments. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this in principle; one always
needs a baseline when making comparisons. The idea, however, that the laboratory
control is the norm is false and can lead to misunderstanding and poor predictions
of behavior. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | In the decade that has passed since the first edition of this book, the global environ-
ment has changed rapidly. Even the most steadfast ‘‘deny-ers’’ have come to accept
that atmospheric CO 2 enrichment and global warming pose serious challenges to
life on Earth. Regrettably, this acceptance has been forced by calamitous events
rather than by the long-standing, sober warnings of the scientific community.
There seems to be growing belief that ‘‘technology’’ will save us from the worst
consequences of a warmer planet and its wayward weather. This hope, that may in
the end prove to be no more than wishful thinking, relates principally to the built
environment and human affairs. Alternative sources of energy, utilized with greater
efficiency, are at the heart of such hopes; even alternative ways of producing food or
obtaining water may be possible. For plants, however, there is no alternative but to
utilize sunlight and fix carbon and to draw water from the soil. (Under a given
range of environmental conditions, these processes are already remarkably efficient
by industrial standards.) Can we ‘‘technologize’’ our way out of the problems that
plants may encounter in capricious, stormier, hotter, drier, or more saline environ-
ments? Climate change will not alter the basic nature of the stresses that plants must
endure, but it will result in their occurrence in places where formerly their impact
was small, thus exposing species and vegetation types to more intense episodes of
stress than they are able to handle. The timescale on which the climate is changing is
too fast to wait for evolution to come up with solutions to the problems. | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Springer | en_US |
| dc.subject | Plant | en_US |
| dc.subject | Physiological Ecology | en_US |
| dc.title | Plant Physiological Ecology | en_US |
| dc.type | Book | en_US |
| Appears in Collections: | ARTS & SCIENCE
|
