BookreviewsJom~ L. }IAR'I'~:It POPt~LATION BIOLOGY OF PLANTS Academic Press, London, New York et San Francisco 1977, XXIV -t-892 pp.The last 2() years have been ehst'acteriz~d by an increasing number of papers conce,'zaing the population ecology of plants. The end of' this period is marked by the publication of the book under consideration. H~RPER'S book is tl~.e lirst one devoted to population biology of plants and is divided into six parts. The first part, with a single chapter "1. Experiments, amdoglcs, models" gives a concise survey of the theory of population growth.The second part, "Dispersal, dormancy and recruitment", contains tour chapters, namely: 2. The seed rain, 3. Dormancy, 4. The seed bank, 5. The recruitment of seedling populations~ describing crucial factors influencing the rise trod maintenance of popnla~ions.The third part (The effe(;ts of neighbors) is divided into six chapters: 6. The inlluen(~e on density an(] mortality, 7. The influence of d~nsity on form and reproduction, 8. Mi• of species: ][. Space and proportions, 9. Mix~,ures of species: IL Changes with time, 10. The limiting resmlrccs of the enviromnent, ll. Mechanisms of intera(~tion between speeies. Question~ dealing with the mutual influence of partieult~r plants are discussed in this chapter. These relations are very imFortent in the management of plant population~ --mainly in agri(,ultnre and forestry.The fourth part is called "The eitbcts of predators". The chapters contained in this pa~ are ~he following: 12. Defoliation, 13. Seasonality, s(;arch and choice, 14. The role of grazing an:reals. 15. "Phe predation of seeds and fruits, l~i. Pathogens, 17. The role of predation in vegetation."]'he natural dynamics of plant populations" is the name of next part: plant dynamics is described in three chapters here: 18..Introdu(:tion: annuals and bienniMs, 19. Herbaceous T~erennials, 20. Woody plants.The last part, "Plants~ vegetation and (~volution", has fonr ehaiJters: 21. Reproduction and growth, 22. Reproduction -llfe cycles and fertility schedules, 23. Community structure and diversity, 24. Natural sell)orion and the popnIation biology of pl,~nts.It can be seen from the n~mes of partieldar chapters that only one part of population b~ology i.e. popldation ecology, is the subject of this book. P~)pnlation biology of plants is a very young branch of seien(x~ and is growing rapidly. For this rc~son, population e~ology lacks a nunlber of the. laws which are so typical of long-established (tis(~iplines. Theory consists in hypotheses to be tested during contimJing research. The author solves this situation by a great number of examples. The book is rich in very informative figures. He thus gives a clear picture of the present state of population biology of plantsin the world. KROPA4:'S paper on the estimation of seeds in soil is the only paper by a Czeehoslov'.-~k autilor which is given in HA~PEn'S references, a fact which accurat(;ly reflects the situatfon in population biology of plants in Czechoslovakia.The importance of t~i~P~a's book ...
Abstract. The vegetation class is generally accepted as the highest category in vegetation taxonomy. Vegetation classes, following the tradition, are defined mainly on the basis of character species. However, these are sometimes relatively rare and not always really representative of the ecological conditions of plant communities included in the class. In the present study the possibilities are discussed for a more comprehensive definition of the class, including spatial structure and environmental characteristics of the vegetation and the geographical distribution of character species. These include criteria with practical value, in particular for the understanding of vegetation in tropical areas. Some cases of well‐known vegetation classes are discussed; in most of them the ranges of single character species and the range of the class as a whole largely coincide.
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