Plants and Microclimate A Quantitative Approach to Environmental Plant Physiology

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Author : HAMLYN G. JONES

Published in : Cambridge University Press

ISBN No.  : 978-0-521-27959-8

File Type : pdf

File Size : 18 mb

Language : English

Description

I have been delighted, and somewhat surprised, at the continued widespread use of this text, in spite of the fact that much has changed in associated fields since the previous edition was published around 20 years ago. Perhaps the major change in plant biology over this period has been the explosion of research on the molecular and genetic basis of plant responses to the environment, though there have been important advances in other relevant fields such as in remote sensing. Although I have not attempted to cover molecular aspects in any detail, as there are many suitable alternative texts, I have tried to relate recent advances in molecular sciences to our understanding of whole-plant responses to the environment. In this context I have aimed especially to indicate the ways in which the powerful new molecular tools and other ‘omics’ technologies can contribute to advancing our understanding of the biophysical interactions between plants and the atmosphere. As in the previous editions, however, I have continued the approach of describing only briefly the biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in plant responses to the environment, so interested readers are referred to specialist reviews and books mentioned at appropriate places in the text. For this third edition I have chosen largely to retain the general structure and aims of the successful previous editions. In particular the key aim remains to provide an authoritative introduction to environmental plant physiology suitable both as a text for upper undergraduate and postgraduate courses and as a reference for researchers in the field. As previously, the first half of the text concentrates on the general principles, with the later chapters going more into the physiology and practical applications. The emphasis throughout remains on the more quantitative and physical aspects of plant responses to the aerial environment as these topics tend to be relatively poorly treated by the standard plant physiology texts, yet our need to understand how the whole plant functions and responds to its environment has never been greater if we are to respond effectively to the challenges that face the world in the coming years. These include responding to the problems and opportunities raised by climate change and by the need to continue to feed the burgeoning and increasingly wealthy world population in the coming years.