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Photosynthesis and productivity in different environments
21 I
Saumgesellschaften im Vegetations- und Standortgefi~lle an WaldrauderrL Hartmut Dierschke. Scripta Geobotauica, edited by the chair for geobotanics, University of Gottingen, Fed.Rep. of Germany, 1974, 246 pp., 104 illus., DM 24. The author investigated the natural and anthropogeneous forest edges in different exposures in the mountain and hill area of the Leine and Werra rivers. The floristical gradients of the vegetation from the fully-exposed open area, half-shadow tall-herb skirt, shrub coat to the dense woodland were studied at many places. In addition to the survey of the change of plant communities, all relevant ecological factors (microclimate, the soil water content, the nutrient supply) were also object of the investigation. The gradients of light and global radiation, of the temperature in the uppermost soil layers and in the air in and close to the vegetation covers, of wind, Piche-evaporation and precipitation are of special interest to microclimatologists and agrometeorologists. It is only regrettable that the author used partly old fashioned measuring methods (Piche, too small Assmannpsychrometers), which was partly unavoidable because of the large number of sites investigated. J. V A N ELMERN (Freising-Weihenstephan)
Photosynthesis and Productivity its Different Environments. J. P. Cooper (Editor). Cambridge University Press, London, 1975, 715 pp., £22.00. Primary production and the efficiency of solar energy conversion by green plants is the mare subject of this volume. It is the third in a series synthesizing results of the International Biological Program, which terminated June 1974. The 31 chapters are based on papers delivered at Aberystwyth, Wales, U.K. in April 1973 at the meeting of the Primary Production Photosynthesis Subsection and the intersectional Photosynthesis Liaison Group of IBP. The chapters are organized in a sequence leading from comparisons of primary production in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, through consideration of the physical and physiological basis of variation in production, to a few concluding chapters on control and management of photosynthetic systems. The chapters on primary production in terrestrial environments are organized around forest, grazing land, tundra, desert, and agricultural ecosystems. Although the text and the extensive tables comparing gross and net production and efficiency in different systems are an important source of information, it is regrettable that t h e y are n o t the last word. The results of many IBP studies were not available in final form at the time of the conference. For aquatic ecosystems, separate chapters are devoted to microphytes and macrophytes, further divided into freshwater vs. marine systems. As a
215 student of terrestrial systems, it was surprising to learn how frequently nutrient deficiency limits production of aquatic systems and how incapable we y e t are in estimating total production in the aquasphere. Photosynthesis is emphasized in a series of chapters on the physical inputs and physiological processes underlying differences in production. These chapters describe the distribution of radiant energy and CO2 in terrestrial and aquatic communities, photosynthesis of vascular plants, mosses, and lichens, and the effect of water, temperature, and nutrient stresses on photosynthesis. The " f u n c t i o n a l " or "process" approach of IBP is most obvious in these chapters, but is evident even in the introductory chapters on primary production at the biome level. Photosynthesis in this volume refers primarily to CO2 -exchange processes and not the photophosphorylation and reduction reactions of the biochemist. The only exception is a series of exciting chapters on source--sink relationships and the use of assimilates in plants, including one by Penning de Vries on the respiratory costs of converting reduced CO2 to structural and storage compounds. The final chapters on management and control of p h o t o s y n t h e t i c systems are more limited in scope than the rest of the volume. Cooper's chapter is an exception, and alludes broadly to the problems of manipulating productivity. But the remaining chapters are merely case studies of algal culture and of simulation modeling in crop productivity. Nevertheless, it is clear that major improvements in management and breeding are necessary before terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems begin to approach the theoretical limits of efficiency established by the IBP. For the specialist, chapters in his own area of expertise may offer little new. However, the broad coverage of both terrestrial and aquatic, natural and managed, ecosystems is unique, so "Photosynthesis and Productivity in Different Environments" is sure to be an important source for those interested in global aspects of primary production. The book is a valuable addition to the reference library for ecologists mad crop scientists. F. TH. LEDIG (New Haven, Conn.)
Methods in Agricultural Meteorology. L. P. Smith, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1975, 240 pp., Dfl. 75.00. This is a philosophical as well as a pragmatic treatment of an immensely important practical field, whose applications to the agricultural technology of the last three decades in both British and international contexts owe much to the efforts of the author. The aims are broadened beyond agroclimatology and agricultural production to encompass planning for sensible land use and " t h e avoidance of irreversible abuse of land resources". The main types of meteorological applications to agriculture, which are elaborated in the following seven chapters, cover the plant cycle, the animal cycle, ecology, climates
Saumgesellschaften im Vegetations- und Standortgefi~lle an WaldrauderrL Hartmut Dierschke. Scripta Geobotauica, edited by the chair for geobotanics, University of Gottingen, Fed.Rep. of Germany, 1974, 246 pp., 104 illus., DM 24. The author investigated the natural and anthropogeneous forest edges in different exposures in the mountain and hill area of the Leine and Werra rivers. The floristical gradients of the vegetation from the fully-exposed open area, half-shadow tall-herb skirt, shrub coat to the dense woodland were studied at many places. In addition to the survey of the change of plant communities, all relevant ecological factors (microclimate, the soil water content, the nutrient supply) were also object of the investigation. The gradients of light and global radiation, of the temperature in the uppermost soil layers and in the air in and close to the vegetation covers, of wind, Piche-evaporation and precipitation are of special interest to microclimatologists and agrometeorologists. It is only regrettable that the author used partly old fashioned measuring methods (Piche, too small Assmannpsychrometers), which was partly unavoidable because of the large number of sites investigated. J. V A N ELMERN (Freising-Weihenstephan)
Photosynthesis and Productivity its Different Environments. J. P. Cooper (Editor). Cambridge University Press, London, 1975, 715 pp., £22.00. Primary production and the efficiency of solar energy conversion by green plants is the mare subject of this volume. It is the third in a series synthesizing results of the International Biological Program, which terminated June 1974. The 31 chapters are based on papers delivered at Aberystwyth, Wales, U.K. in April 1973 at the meeting of the Primary Production Photosynthesis Subsection and the intersectional Photosynthesis Liaison Group of IBP. The chapters are organized in a sequence leading from comparisons of primary production in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, through consideration of the physical and physiological basis of variation in production, to a few concluding chapters on control and management of photosynthetic systems. The chapters on primary production in terrestrial environments are organized around forest, grazing land, tundra, desert, and agricultural ecosystems. Although the text and the extensive tables comparing gross and net production and efficiency in different systems are an important source of information, it is regrettable that t h e y are n o t the last word. The results of many IBP studies were not available in final form at the time of the conference. For aquatic ecosystems, separate chapters are devoted to microphytes and macrophytes, further divided into freshwater vs. marine systems. As a
215 student of terrestrial systems, it was surprising to learn how frequently nutrient deficiency limits production of aquatic systems and how incapable we y e t are in estimating total production in the aquasphere. Photosynthesis is emphasized in a series of chapters on the physical inputs and physiological processes underlying differences in production. These chapters describe the distribution of radiant energy and CO2 in terrestrial and aquatic communities, photosynthesis of vascular plants, mosses, and lichens, and the effect of water, temperature, and nutrient stresses on photosynthesis. The " f u n c t i o n a l " or "process" approach of IBP is most obvious in these chapters, but is evident even in the introductory chapters on primary production at the biome level. Photosynthesis in this volume refers primarily to CO2 -exchange processes and not the photophosphorylation and reduction reactions of the biochemist. The only exception is a series of exciting chapters on source--sink relationships and the use of assimilates in plants, including one by Penning de Vries on the respiratory costs of converting reduced CO2 to structural and storage compounds. The final chapters on management and control of p h o t o s y n t h e t i c systems are more limited in scope than the rest of the volume. Cooper's chapter is an exception, and alludes broadly to the problems of manipulating productivity. But the remaining chapters are merely case studies of algal culture and of simulation modeling in crop productivity. Nevertheless, it is clear that major improvements in management and breeding are necessary before terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems begin to approach the theoretical limits of efficiency established by the IBP. For the specialist, chapters in his own area of expertise may offer little new. However, the broad coverage of both terrestrial and aquatic, natural and managed, ecosystems is unique, so "Photosynthesis and Productivity in Different Environments" is sure to be an important source for those interested in global aspects of primary production. The book is a valuable addition to the reference library for ecologists mad crop scientists. F. TH. LEDIG (New Haven, Conn.)
Methods in Agricultural Meteorology. L. P. Smith, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1975, 240 pp., Dfl. 75.00. This is a philosophical as well as a pragmatic treatment of an immensely important practical field, whose applications to the agricultural technology of the last three decades in both British and international contexts owe much to the efforts of the author. The aims are broadened beyond agroclimatology and agricultural production to encompass planning for sensible land use and " t h e avoidance of irreversible abuse of land resources". The main types of meteorological applications to agriculture, which are elaborated in the following seven chapters, cover the plant cycle, the animal cycle, ecology, climates