- Email: [email protected]
‘River plants of western Europe’, the macrophytic vegetation of watercourses of the European economic community
200 then presenting possible solutions using a variety of methods, with a discussion of their advantages, shortcomings and problems. The present book is best fitted to the needs of water quality investigators who want a quick survey of standard methods. It may also be useful as an introduction for students starting their practical work, by way of a quick orientation. For the more experienced aquatic ecologist the book is unsatisfactory and needs major revision in order to update the information and its presentation. G. VAN DER VELDE Laboratorium voorAquatische Oecologie Katholieke Universiteit Toernooiveld 6525 ED Nijmegen The Netherlands
RIVER PLANTS 'River Plants of Western Europe" The Macrophytic Vegetation of Watercourses of the European Economic Community, by S.M. Haslam. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987, 530 pp., hardcover, price ~£75.00/ U.S.$125.00, ISBN: 0-521-26427-8.
This book ambitiously attempts to examine macrophyte vegetation in ten countries of the European Economic Community. The author states that "the book covers extensive and comparative aspects of vegetation rather than the intensive aspects so amply covered by other workers (particularly in Britain, Germany, The Netherlands)". This book has 512, oversized, pages and there are 30 chapters. The first few chapters deal with river development, river classification, climate, and river discharges. These general discussions will be of interest to people without knowledge of rivers and climate in the geographic area covered and those who desire an overview of these three subjects. Chapter 6 is devoted to species distribution in relation to physical factors. Therein the author's approach becomes worrisome for Dr. Haslam believes that "in any region or country, if macrophytes are reported to occur in a river, the habitat range of the site can be deduced from the species present". These conclusions are based on a survey method of taking records, mostly from bridges and sometimes from other point sites, referred to as spot samples. In addition to later observations, approximately 4500 previous records from Great Britain are included which appear to be taken from Haslam (1978) and Haslam and Wolseley (1981). For this volume, various numbers of visual spot samples were made from all EEC countries. It can be long debated if this visual method of recording the vegetation and determining the physical factors (flow, substrate,
201
depth, width and clarity) is adequate to enable similar assessments to be made at many bridges. Hence, it is questionable whether even simple analyses of the data using chi-square tests provided biologically sound bases for the interpretations made. Chapter 7 discusses and classifies species using Dr. Haslam's nutrient-banding schemes. In the introduction to this chapter the author clearly discusses the weaknesses inherent in classifying vegetation by nutrient regimes. The nutrient-correlated distributions of the macrophyte vegetation of the rivers examined are stated to be based on the distribution patterns which actually occur. If the sampling techniques used are adequate, such a procedure can provide good information; 150 pages of the book are devoted to this chapter. The geographic distributions of 24 of the commoner species in the EEC are shown in figures that provide useful information. Chapter 10 is a very interesting discussion of factors causing changes in rivers, with particular reference to the twentieth century. Many people will enjoy reading Chapter 11, entitled "Changes in vegetation during a decade". The river maps with species occurrences indicated may be of limited value to most readers, but published maps of river vegetation are uncommon and add to the body of knowledge if the sampling methodology that produced them is properly noted. The chapter dealing with plant communities in Britain appears to describe the vegetation of British rivers realistically. It has been best studied by the author and previously dealt with and published in books by Dr. Haslam, whereas the chapters on plant communities in the other EEC countries are general. The parts of this book addressing management and related interference, pollution patterns, and aspects of pollution are very interesting and would provide good reading for anyone. The final chapter proposes use of indices for assessing damage and pollution to streams. The advantages and disadvantages of monitoring with macrophytes are clearly stated as is the author's recognition that the indices presented are "too new for their general validity to be assumed". The ideas are interesting and will be provocative, for such assessments are frequently necessary. The author intended this book for the river botanist but hoped " . . . that river geographers, other river specialists and those with a general interest in r i v e r s . . . " would find it of interest. River botanists and specialists may find this extensive and comparative survey of limited value. It does contain a great deal of information that may be useful for some purposes. The book is almost free of production errors, is well designed, well written, and cost a great deal of money! JEAN W. WOOTEN
University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg 39406 MS
U.S.A.
202 REFERENCES Haslam, S.M., 1978, River Plants. Cambridge University Press, 396 pp. Haslam, S.M. and Wolseley,P.A., 1981. River Vegetation: its Identification, Assessment and Management. Cambridge University Press, 154 pp.
RIVER PLANTS 'River Plants of Western Europe" The Macrophytic Vegetation of Watercourses of the European Economic Community, by S.M. Haslam. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987, 530 pp., hardcover, price ~£75.00/ U.S.$125.00, ISBN: 0-521-26427-8.
This book ambitiously attempts to examine macrophyte vegetation in ten countries of the European Economic Community. The author states that "the book covers extensive and comparative aspects of vegetation rather than the intensive aspects so amply covered by other workers (particularly in Britain, Germany, The Netherlands)". This book has 512, oversized, pages and there are 30 chapters. The first few chapters deal with river development, river classification, climate, and river discharges. These general discussions will be of interest to people without knowledge of rivers and climate in the geographic area covered and those who desire an overview of these three subjects. Chapter 6 is devoted to species distribution in relation to physical factors. Therein the author's approach becomes worrisome for Dr. Haslam believes that "in any region or country, if macrophytes are reported to occur in a river, the habitat range of the site can be deduced from the species present". These conclusions are based on a survey method of taking records, mostly from bridges and sometimes from other point sites, referred to as spot samples. In addition to later observations, approximately 4500 previous records from Great Britain are included which appear to be taken from Haslam (1978) and Haslam and Wolseley (1981). For this volume, various numbers of visual spot samples were made from all EEC countries. It can be long debated if this visual method of recording the vegetation and determining the physical factors (flow, substrate,
201
depth, width and clarity) is adequate to enable similar assessments to be made at many bridges. Hence, it is questionable whether even simple analyses of the data using chi-square tests provided biologically sound bases for the interpretations made. Chapter 7 discusses and classifies species using Dr. Haslam's nutrient-banding schemes. In the introduction to this chapter the author clearly discusses the weaknesses inherent in classifying vegetation by nutrient regimes. The nutrient-correlated distributions of the macrophyte vegetation of the rivers examined are stated to be based on the distribution patterns which actually occur. If the sampling techniques used are adequate, such a procedure can provide good information; 150 pages of the book are devoted to this chapter. The geographic distributions of 24 of the commoner species in the EEC are shown in figures that provide useful information. Chapter 10 is a very interesting discussion of factors causing changes in rivers, with particular reference to the twentieth century. Many people will enjoy reading Chapter 11, entitled "Changes in vegetation during a decade". The river maps with species occurrences indicated may be of limited value to most readers, but published maps of river vegetation are uncommon and add to the body of knowledge if the sampling methodology that produced them is properly noted. The chapter dealing with plant communities in Britain appears to describe the vegetation of British rivers realistically. It has been best studied by the author and previously dealt with and published in books by Dr. Haslam, whereas the chapters on plant communities in the other EEC countries are general. The parts of this book addressing management and related interference, pollution patterns, and aspects of pollution are very interesting and would provide good reading for anyone. The final chapter proposes use of indices for assessing damage and pollution to streams. The advantages and disadvantages of monitoring with macrophytes are clearly stated as is the author's recognition that the indices presented are "too new for their general validity to be assumed". The ideas are interesting and will be provocative, for such assessments are frequently necessary. The author intended this book for the river botanist but hoped " . . . that river geographers, other river specialists and those with a general interest in r i v e r s . . . " would find it of interest. River botanists and specialists may find this extensive and comparative survey of limited value. It does contain a great deal of information that may be useful for some purposes. The book is almost free of production errors, is well designed, well written, and cost a great deal of money! JEAN W. WOOTEN
University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg 39406 MS
U.S.A.
202 REFERENCES Haslam, S.M., 1978, River Plants. Cambridge University Press, 396 pp. Haslam, S.M. and Wolseley,P.A., 1981. River Vegetation: its Identification, Assessment and Management. Cambridge University Press, 154 pp.