Physiological plant ecology

Physiological plant ecology

254 drawn up at the workshop, b u t at least two of the working groups would disagree with the aquatic limit of wetlands at 2 m below low water or th...

130KB Sizes 36 Downloads 704 Views

254

drawn up at the workshop, b u t at least two of the working groups would disagree with the aquatic limit of wetlands at 2 m below low water or the limits of emergents, if this is deeper, given in the interim classification. Ecologically such a boundary is difficult to substantiate as there is t w o way movement of water, nutrients, phytoplankton, invertebrates and vertebrates, and environmental hazards such as pollution and disturbance may apply across the boundary. There is no discussion o f h o w the sites are to be assessed once they have been classified. There would have been some value in doing this before setting up a classification, to ensure that the correct data are collected. Although there are many points o f interest to people outside the U.S.A., the workshop was strongly orientated towards the inventory of north American wetlands. This is unfortunate as it limits its interest to readers outside the U.S.A. As north America holds such a wide range of wetlands and climatic zones, from arctic to tropical, an attempt at a general classification which could be used on a global scale might be worth future consideration with the aid of a few experts from elsewhere. The range of conditions given sometimes omits situations which are important elsewhere. For instance, grazing is omitted from man's activities which modify wetlands. The interim classification will be of greatest interest to the general reader, whereas the bulk of the proceedings is of limited interest to those outside north America. NEVILLE C. MORGAN

(Aries. France)

ECOPHYSIOLOGY

Physiological Plant Ecology. M.A. Biederman-Thorson. (translated and revised from the original German text ~kologie der Pflanzen by W. Larcher, 1973, Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart.) Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1975, 255 pp., 152 figures and 40 tables, U S $ 1 8 . 9 0 , ISBN 3-540-07336-1. This handy b o o k provides background material of plant physiology for understanding the basic concept of primary productivity within ecosystems. The first chapter lays emphasis on the overlap of hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and the biosphere which leads to interplay of biological and environmental factors constituting an ecosystem. The second chapter explains the role of solar radiation in energising plants and their environments. Carbon utilization and dry matter production are studied in relation to plants and their communities. This is followed by chapters on the utilization and cycling of nitrogen and mineral elements. The physiology of water econ o m y is based on extensive researches mostly carried o u t in Europe and

255

Australia. Temperature, climate, plants and vegetation are examined, with appropriate examples drawn mostly from the temperate countries. The text ends with a synopsis of ecophysiological technique in modelling ecosystems in very general terms. The original German text by Walter Latchet, under the title Okologie der Pflanzen appeared in 1973. M.A. Biederman-Thorson has done a good job of translating it into English during a short period after revision, expansion and correction. Nevertheless, a few mistakes have come to the notice of the reviewer. For example, 4.98 should read 49.8 in the legend to figure 1 in the sixteenth line. The word 'fixate' has appeared for 'fixed' on page 41, line 13, and for 'fix' on page 55, line 3. 'Drier' is spelt 'dryer' on page 57, line 11. In lines 17 and 18 on page 57 'through' would be more meaningful than 'by'. On page 107, line 7 from below the words 'those of' preceding N, P and S are missing. On page 158, line 22 'potometer' is misspelt as 'potetometer'. The word 'support' in line 8 on page 159 could be better replaced by 'withstand', and 'limit' in line 19 in page 161 should be changed to 'inhibition'. Many more expressions and words are found to be faulty. These perhaps could not be avoided in producing a quick English translation from the German text packed with too much information in such a short space. I have no doubt that the book will receive universal appreciation shared by the author, the translator and the ecologists at large. An ecophysiological approach for understanding agro-ecosystems, as also from the autecological angle of primary productivity, has long been needed. Students of plant ecology will benefit greatly by reading the volume before embarking upon analysis of an ecosystem. R. MISRA

(Varanasi, India)

A G R O C L I M A T O L O G Y OF THE ANDES

Estudio agroclimatol6gico de la zona andina (informe t$cnico). M. Fr6re, J.Q. Rijks and J. Rea. First Edition. Proyecto Interinstitucional FAO/ UNESCO/OMM en Agroclimatologfa, 1975, XLVI + 375 pp., 186 tables, 178 figures and 15 attached diagrams, price not quoted. This is a technical report of an interinstitutional group including UNESCO FAO, WMO, and UNDP, dealing with the agricultural biometeorology of areas like the Near East, the Saharan portion of West Africa and the highlands of East Africa. The present report refers to the South American highlands between 1,000 and 4,000 m of elevation along the Andean mountains, covering some 3,000 km between Venezuela and Colombia. The book is structured in three parts; the first comprises: (1} A general physical description of the area, (2) Soils of the Andean region, (3) The na-