The current presence of plant species in a particular area is explained by a series of events and processes of a diverse nature – mainly geological and climatic, but also anthropozoogenic – which have occurred over millions of years at different spatial levels. Sunlight is the energy source for plant photosynthesis and one of the major environmental factors influencing the growth and distribution of plant species. Most ferns live in moist and shady environments; however, some are able to recruit energy under high-irradiance conditions. Ferns are much utilized by people, namely for use as ornamental plants, as raw material to make handicrafts, in cosmetics, in foods and in popular medicine. Ferns and Shrubs discusses the biology, cultivation and implications for the environment of ferns, and also examines the Iberian Peninsula's shrub species.
Preface
- Ferns As Protective Agents against the Contamination with Mercurium Chloride: The Example of Pityrogramma calomelanos (L.) Link and a Short Review (Luciene F. Lima, Fernando G. Figueredo, Maria Audilene Freitas, Gioconda M. Andrade, Rosimeire S. Albuquerque, Maria Flaviana B. Morais-Braga, João Victor A. Ferreira, Joara N. P. Carneiro, Dara Izabel V. de Brito, Anne Karyzia L. S. Lavor, Ednardo Fagner F. Matias, Antonio J. T. Machado, Irwin R. A. Menezes and Henrique D. M. Coutinho, Laboratório de Microbiologia e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Regional do Cariri –URCA, Crato-CE, Brasil)
- The North-Western Extreme of the Iberian System (Spain): A Meeting Area for Peripheral and Disjunct Populations of Notable Shrub Species (C. Molina, M. Eugenio, Actividades, Estudios y Proyectos en el Medio Ambiente S.L, Soria, Spain, and others)
- Photosynthetic Light Responses of Fern Species Adapted to Different Light Regimes (Jen-Hsien Weng, Shau-Lian Wong, Graduate Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, and others)
- Recovery of Ferns from Herbarium Collections (Isabel Reis Moura, Maria Cristina Simões Costa, Maria José Silva, and Maria Cristina Duarte, Jardim Botânico Tropical/IICT, Largo dos Jerónimos, Lisboa, Portugal, and others)
Index