J. Grace - Böcker

This book should be of interest to plant biologists, botanists, ecologists.

Flowering and fruiting are key processes in the biology of higher plants, ensuring the transfer of genetic material from one generation to the next. In addition, as almost all of the world's agricultural and horticultural industries depend on the production of flowers, fruits and seeds, the study of the reproductive biology of cultivated plants is of fundamental importance to humankind. Surprisingly, therefore, this topic has received relatively little attention from environmental physiologists compared with studies on the growth and development of vegetative structures. This book, based on a meeting held by the Environmental Physiology Group of the Society of Experimental Biology, sets out to correct this deficiency. The topic is given a broad and comprehensive treatment, with chapters covering the onset of flowering through to the development and growth of fruits and seeds, and finally to ecological and evolutionary aspects of fruiting. This volume will therefore serve as a useful introduction to the various aspects of flowering and fruiting and will also provide a thorough general overview of the subject for students and researchers alike.

The prospect of future climate change has stimulated research into the physiological responses of plants to stress. Water is a key factor controlling the distribution and abundance of plants in nature and the efficient uptake and subsequent transport of water within the plant is critical in hot, dry regions. This book, based on a meeting which focused on the failure of the hydraulic pathway within the xylem, brings together contributions from a range of experts who have worked on the cavitation of water in the transport system. The phenomenon of cavitation, discovered only in the 1960s, is now becoming recognised as being widespread and, whilst its ecological significance is a matter for further research, many scientists consider than embolism in the xylem predisposes plants to further water stress. Cavitation and refilling may, therefore, hold the key to vegetational response to climatic warming and drying. This book will provide a valuable compendium of information for those working in the plant and environmental sciences as well as for those whose interests lie in the more applied disciplines of agriculture and forestry.

Flowering and fruiting are key processes in the biology of higher plants, ensuring the transfer of genetic material from one generation to the next. In addition, as almost all of the world's agricultural and horticultural industries depend on the production of flowers, fruits and seeds, the study of the reproductive biology of cultivated plants is of fundamental importance to humankind. Surprisingly, therefore, this topic has received relatively little attention from environmental physiologists compared with studies on the growth and development of vegetative structures. This book, based on a meeting held by the Environmental Physiology Group of the Society of Experimental Biology, sets out to correct this deficiency. The topic is given a broad and comprehensive treatment, with chapters covering the onset of flowering through to the development and growth of fruits and seeds, and finally to ecological and evolutionary aspects of fruiting. This volume will therefore serve as a useful introduction to the various aspects of flowering and fruiting and will also provide a thorough general overview of the subject for students and researchers alike.