Vegetation Ecology

About this book

Vegetation Ecology, 2nd Edition is a comprehensive, integrated account of plant communities and their environments. Written by leading experts in their field from four continents, the second edition of this book:

- covers the composition, structure, ecology, dynamics, diversity, biotic interactions and distribution of plant communities, with an emphasis on functional adaptations;
- reviews modern developments in vegetation ecology in a historical perspective;
- presents a coherent view on vegetation ecology while integrating population ecology, dispersal biology, soil biology,
- ecosystem ecology and global change studies;
- tackles applied aspects of vegetation ecology, including management of communities and invasive species;
- includes new chapters addressing the classification and mapping of vegetation, and the significance of plant functional types

Vegetation Ecology, 2nd Edition is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduates and researchers and teachers in plant ecology, geography, forestry and nature conservation. Vegetation Ecology takes an integrated, multidisciplinary approach and will be welcomed as an essential reference for plant ecologists the world over.

Contents

List of Contributors
Preface

1. Vegetation Ecology: Historical Notes and Outline
2. Classification of natural and semi-natural vegetation
3. Vegetation and environment: Discontinuities and continuities
4. Vegetation dynamics
5. Clonality in the plant community
6. Seed ecology and assembly rules in plant communities
7. Species interactions structuring plant communities
8. Terrestrial plant-herbivore interactions: Integrating across multiple determinants and trophic levels
9. Interactions between higher plants and soil-dwelling organisms
10. Vegetation and ecosystem
11. Diversity and ecosystem function
12. Plant functional types and traits at the community, ecosystem and world level
13. Plant invasions and invasibility of plant communities
14. Vegetation conservation, management and restoration
15. Vegetation types and their broad-scale distribution
16. Mapping vegetation from landscape to regional scales
17. Vegetation ecology and global change

Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Eddy van der Maarel is a vegetation ecologist and has made a major contribution to the amalgamation of Anglo-American and European approaches in vegetation science. He is one the founding editors of the Journal of Vegetation Science. He is a member of the Royal Academies of Science of The Netherlands and Sweden and a honorary member of the British Ecological Society, the International Association of Vegetation Science and several other societies.

Janet Franklin (Professor, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University) is a vegetation scientist and landscape ecologist trained in geography and ecology. She is a former Associate Editor of the Journal of Vegetation Science and Applied Vegetation Science. She, like Eddy, is particularly interested in vegetation dynamics in response to natural and human disturbance, and the application of vegetation science in nature conservation and planning.