Climate and Agriculture: An Ecological Survey

by Jen-hu Chang

Overview

This summary of what is known about microclimatic environments and the effects of climate on plant growth presents a comprehensive statement on the complex relationship between climate and agriculture. The author covers the theory and data of modern physical geography, meteorology, and agronomy within the context of contemporary ecological analysis to produce a book invaluable not only to the student and research worker but also one that deals for the first time with the application of theory to real problems of energy budgets and water balance for the practical agronomist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780202362496
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	04/15/2009
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jen-Hu Chang is professor emeritus of geography and climatology at the University of Hawaii. He is a past member of the editorial board of the Annuals of the Association of American Geographers and is past secretary of the Hawaiian Geophysical Society. He is the author of Atmospheric Circulation Systems and Climates, Agricultural Geography of Taiwan, and Problems and Methods in Agricultural Climatology.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction; 2: Radiation Balance; 3: Photosynthesis; 4: Radiation Distribution within the Plant Community; 5: Leaf Area Index; 6: Radiation Utilization by Field Crops; 7: Photoperiodism; 8: Air and Leaf Temperature; 9: Soil Temperature; 10: Frost Protection; 11: Wind Profile near the Ground; 12: Water in Relation to Plant Growth; 13: Evapotranspiration; 14: Lysimeters; 15: Empirical Formulae; 16: The Aerodynamic Approach; 17: The Energy Budget Approach; 18: Evaporimeters; 19: Water Balance; 20: Water and Yield Relationship; 21: Dew, Fog, and Humidity; 22: Wind; 23: Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Climate and Agriculture was written to show the inadequacies of many traditional concepts, to stimulate further research, and to help bridge the gaps between theory and application and between the physical and agricultural sciences. It succeeds remarkably well in achieving these objectives. It deserves a place in the libraries not only of agricultural climatologists but also of agricultural geographers, for its clear explanation of crop responses to the microclimate, and of remote-sensing specialists, for its analyses of the complex, but fundamental, interrelationships between plants and elements in the climatic environment. The author’s enthusiasm for his subject is readily transmitted to the reader. If more texts were written in this manner, teachers would have most of their task accomplished for them. Although the book contains an abundance of factual information, its ultimate value will be as a stimulus to further research, a distinction that few other textbooks can claim.” —Arthur J. Hawley, Geographical Review “Chang’s experience with such climatologists as C. F. Brooks and C. W. Thornthwaite, his own research on soil temperature, evapotranspiration, and geographic-scale distributions, and his association with the advanced agriculture of Hawaii and its university have enabled him to make an important contribution toward our fuller understanding of those indispensable organisms, the domesticated plants.” —David F. Miller, Science “The chief value of Chang’s book is readability, breath of coverage, critical analysis, and extensive bibliography.” —William C. Ashby, Ecology

From the Publisher