Physiological Plant Ecology: Ecophysiology and Stress Physiology of Functional Groups

Physiological Plant Ecology is the science of plant life under the influence of abiotic and biotic factors. The aim of this science is to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these processes and to understand their roles in the life and performance of diverse plant groups and species in their habitats, since it is the knowledge of their structural and functional diversity which ultimately explains the broad spectrum of plant life.

The many aspects of comparative ecophysiology are covered in separate sections of the book. Chapter 1 addresses the abiotic environment of plants and provides a survey of the interactions between organisms including chemical communication. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 cover carbon metabolism and the production of dry matter; the mineral nutrition of plants and the responses of plants to different soil types; and plant-water relations, respectively. Chapter 5 deals with the processes of plant development under the influence of environmental factors. Lastly, chapter 6 emphasizes the stress physiology of plants. It is devoted to the increasing importance of the roles of climatic, edaphic, and anthropogenic disturbances in the life of plants.