The Ecology of Plants / Edition 2

by Jessica Gurevitch, Gordon A. Fox

Overview

Now in full color, this thoroughly revised and updated second edition of The Ecology of Plants incorporates many new illustrations and hundreds of new references. The text covers a range of topics that you might find in a general ecology textbook, but with the focus on the interactions between plants and their environment over a range of scales. Some of the subjects covered are unique to plants, such as photosynthesis and the ecology of plant—soil interactions; other topics, such as resource and mate acquisition, emphasize the distinctive ways plants (in contrast to mobile animals) deal with their environments. The book is unusual in emphasizing the importance of evolutionary and other historical processes for current ecology. Throughout the text, human environmental influences are discussed. While the book is written for an undergraduate college course in plant ecology, the engaging style, thorough coverage of the field, and contemporary perspective make it accessible and useful to others as well, from graduate students in conservation biology to evolutionary biologists and resource managers.

For Instructors

Instructor's Resource CD: This resource includes all the textbook's figures, photographs, and tables, available as JPEGs (high- and low-resolution) and in PowerPoint.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878932948
Publisher:	Sinauer Associates is an imprint of Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2006
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	518
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Jessica Gurevitch is Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences (Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics) at Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. Research projects currently underway include empirical, experimental and modeling approaches to studying pine demography, and experimental studies of plant invasions in forests.

Samuel M. Scheiner is currently working for the U.S. federal government. Previously he was on the faculties of Arizona State University, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Arizona. He earned his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D., all in Biology, from the University of Chicago. Dr. Scheiner's research has been involved equally with plants and animals, the theoretical and the empirical, including population genetics, physiological ecology, population biology, and macroecology. Currently, his research centers on three issues: phenotypic plasticity, measuring natural selection, and both theoretical and empirical work on large-scale patterns of species diversity.

Gordon A. Fox is Associate Professor of Biology at the University of South Florida. He earned a B.A. in History at the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, where he researched the ecology, genetics, and evolution of annual plants in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. His postdoctoral work at the University of California, Davis concentrated on theoretical population genetics. His current research interests include: population dynamics of plants in a stochastic world; the ecology of populations in fire-prone regions; the ecology and evolution of reproductive timing in plants; and applications of population ecology to conservation of endangered plants.

Table of Contents

1. The Science of Plant Ecology
Ecology as a Science
The Genesis of Scientific Knowledge
Objectivity, Subjectivity, Choice, and Chance in Scientific Research
Experiments: The Heart of Research
Testing Theories
Specific Results versus General Understanding
Science and Other Ways of Knowing, Revisited
Scale and Heterogeneity
The Structure and History of Plant Ecology
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

PART I. THE INDIVIDUAL AND ITS ENVIRONMENT

2. Photosynthesis and the Light Environment
The Process of Photosynthesis
Photosynthetic Rates
Limitations Caused by Light Levels
Limitations on Carbon Uptake
Variation in Photosynthetic Rates Within and Between Habitats
The Three Photosynthetic Pathways
C3 Photosynthesis
C4 Photosynthesis
Box 2A. Photorespiration
Box 2B. Stable Isotopes and Photosynthesis
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM Photosynthesis)
Evolution of the Three Photosynthetic Pathways
Phylogeny of the Photosynthetic Pathways
Photosynthesis through Evolutionary Time
Growth Form, Phenology, and Distribution of C3, C4, and CAM Plants
Growth Forms and Habitats
Phenology
Geographic Distributions
Adaptations to the Light Environment
Sun and Shade Leaves
Species' Adaptations to High-Light and Low-Light Habitats
Box 2C Leaf Iridescence and Structural Coloration
Do Sun and Shade Adaptations Exist Within Species?
Day Length: Responses and Adaptations
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

3. Water Relations and Energy Balance
Adapting to Life on Land
Water Potential
The Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum
Box 3A. Measuring Photosynthesis, Transpiration, and Water Potential
Transpiration and the Control of Water Loss
Strategies for Coping with Different Water Availability Conditions
Water Use Efficiency
Whole-Plant Adaptations to Low Water Availability
Physiological Adaptations
Anatomical and Morphological Adaptations
The Energy Balance of Leaves
Radiant Energy
Box 3B. Why the Sky Is Blue and the Setting Sun Is Red
Conduction and Convection
Latent Heat Exchange
Putting It All Together: Leaf and Whole-Plant Temperature
Adaptations to Extreme Temperature Regimes
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

4. Soils, Mineral Nutrition, and Belowground Interactions
Soil Composition and Structure
Soil Texture
Soil pH
Horizons and Profiles
Origins and Classification
Organic Matter and the Role of Organisms
Water Movement within Soils
Plant Mineral Nutrition
The Stoichiometry of Nutrients
Nitrogen in Plants and Soils
Biological Nitrogen Fixation
Box 4A. Symbioses and Mutualisms
Phosphorus in Soils
Nutrient Use Efficiency
Leaf Life Span and Evergreen versus Deciduous Leaves
Mycorrhizae
Major Groups of Mycorrhizae
The Role of Mycorrhizae in Plant Phosphorus Nutrition
Other Functions of Mycorrhizae
Orchids and Their Mycorrhizal Associations
Mutualism or Parasitism?
Effects of Mycorrhizae on Plant Interactions
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

PART II. POPULATIONS AND EVOLUTION

5. Population Structure, Growth, and Decline
Some Issues in the Study of Plant Population Growth
Population Structure
Some Population Structure Issues Specific to Plants
Sources of Population Structure
Studying Population Growth and Decline
Life Cycle Graphs
Box 5A. Life Table Calculations
Box 5B. Borrowing the Mark-Recapture Method from Animal Ecology
Box 5C. Constructing Matrix Models
Matrix Models
Box 5D. Demography of an Endangered Cactus
Box 5E. Multiplying a Population Vector by a Matrix
Analyzing Matrix Models
But Real Plants Live in Variable Environments
Lifetime Reproduction: The Net Reproductive Rate
Reproductive Value: The Contribution of Each Stage to Population Growth
Box 5F. Reproductive Value
Box 5G. How Do Changes in the Transition Probabilities Affect the Population Growth Rate?
Sensitivity and Elasticity
Life Table Response Experiments
Age and Stage, Revisited
Other Approaches to Modeling Plant Demography
Demographic Studies of Long-Lived Plants
Random Variation in Population Growth and Decline
Causes of Random Variation
Long-Term Growth Rates
Studying Variable Population Growth
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

6. Evolutionary Processes and Outcomes
Natural Selection
Variation and Natural Selection
The Factors Necessary for Natural Selection
Heritability
Resemblance among Relatives
Partitioning Phenotypic Variation
Box 6A. A Simple Genetic System and the Resemblance of Relatives
Genotype-Environment Interactions
Gene-Environment Covariation
Patterns of Adaptation
Heavy-Metal Tolerance
Adaptive Plasticity
Levels of Selection
Other Evolutionary Processes
Processes that Increase Variation
Processes that Decrease Variation
Variation among Populations
Ecotypes
Speciation
Adaptation and Speciation through Hybridization
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

7. Growth and Reproduction of Individuals
Plant Growth
Ecology of Growth
Plant Architecture and Light Interception
Growth of Clonal Plants
Plant Reproduction
Vegetative Reproduction
Seeds Produced Asexually
Sexual Life Cycles of Plants
Pollination Ecology
Wind Pollination
Attracting Animal Visitors: Visual Displays
Attracting Animal Visitors: Floral Odors and Acoustic Guides
Limiting Unwanted Visits
Pollination Syndromes
Box 7A. Specialized Plants and Pollinators
Aquatic Plants and Pollination
Box 7B. Some Complex Plant-Pollinator Interactions
Who Mates with Whom?
Plant Gender
Box 7C. Pollination Experiments
Competition for Pollinators and among Pollen Grains
Pollen Dispersal and Its Consequences
Assortative Mating
Frequency-Dependent Selection
Factors that Shape Plant Mating Systems
Applications of Pollination and Mating System Ecology
The Ecology of Fruits and Seeds
Seed Dispersal Patterns
Seed Banks
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

8. Plant Life Histories
Size and Number of Seeds
Life History Strategies
Life Span
r- and K-selection
Grime's Triangular Model
Demographic Life History Theory
Reproductive Allocation
Difficulties in Measuring Trade-Offs
Variation among Years
Consequences of Variable Environments
Seed Germination
Masting
Phenology: Within-Year Schedules of Growth and Reproduction
Vegetative Phenology
Reproductive Phenology: Abiotic Factors
Reproductive Phenology: Biotic Factors
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

PART III. COMMUNITIES AND THEIR CAUSES

9. Community Properties
What Is a Community?
The History of a Controversy
Box 9A. Communities, Taxa, Guilds, and Functional Groups
A Modern Perspective on the Issues in Contention
Are Communities Real?
Box 9B. A Deeper Look at Some Definitions: Abiotic Factors and Emergent Properties
Describing Communities
Species Richness
Diversity, Evenness, and Dominance
Sampling Methods and Parameters for Describing Community Composition
Physiognomy
Long-Term Studies
Summary
Box 9C. The Long-Term Ecological Research Network
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

10. Competition and Other Interactions among Plants
Competition at the Level of Individuals
Seedlings: Density, Size, Inequality, and Timing of Emergence
Seedlings: Density and Mortality
Mechanisms of Competition for Resources
Size and Resource Competition
Experimental Methods for Studying Competition
Greenhouse and Garden Experiments
Box 10A. How Competition Is Measured, and Why That Matters
Field Experiments
From Interspecific Competition to Allelopathy to Facilitation
Trade-offs and Strategies
Competitive Hierarchies
Allelopathy
Facilitation
Modeling Competition and Coexistence
Equilibrium Models
Nonequilibrium Approaches to Modeling Competition
Effects of Competition on Species Coexistence and Community Composition
Competition along Environmental Gradients
Conceptual Models of Competition in Habitats with Differing Productivities
Experimental Evidence
Evidence from Research Syntheses
Resolution of Differing Results
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

11. Herbivory and Plant-Pathogen Interactions
Herbivory at the Level of Individuals
Herbivory and Plant Populations
Herbivory and Spatial Distribution of Plants
Granivory
Biological Control
Effects of Herbivory at the Community Level
Consequences of Herbivore Behavior
Apparent Competition
Introduced and Domesticated Herbivores
Effects of Native Herbivores
Generality
Plant Defenses against Herbivory
Physical Defenses
Plant Secondary Chemistry
Constitutive versus Induced Defenses
Evolutionary Consequences of Plant-Herbivore Interactions
Parasitic Plants
Pathogens
Effects of Disease on Individual Plants
BOX 11A. Effects of Plant Disease on Humans: Potato Blight and the Irish Potato Famine
Physiological and Evolutionary Responses to Pathogens
Effects of Pathogens at the Population and Community Level
More Complex Interactions
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

12. Disturbance and Succession
Theories of the Mechanisms of Succession
Disturbance
Gaps
Fire
Wind
Water
Animals
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Disease
Humans
Colonization
Determining the Nature of Succession
Interaction between Methodology and Understanding
Mechanisms Responsible for Successional Change
The Predictability of Succession
Community Restoration
Primary Succession
Climax Revisited
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

13. Local Abundance, Diversity, and Rarity
Dominance
Are Dominant Species Competitively Superior?
Abundance Curves
Rarity and Commonness
The Nature of Rarity
Patterns of Rarity and Commonness
Causes of Rarity and Commonness
Invasive Species and Community Susceptibility to Invasion
Why Do Some Species Become Invasive?
What Makes a Community Susceptible to Invasion?
Abundance and Community Structure
Productivity and Diversity
Niche Differentiation, Environmental Heterogeneity, and Diversity
Gaps, Disturbance, and Diversity
Effects of Increasing Diversity
Testing the Effects of Diversity on Ecosystems
Diversity and Stability
Regional Processes
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

PART IV. ECOSYSTEMS AND LANDSCAPES

14. Ecosystem Processes
Biogeochemical Cycles: Quantifying Pools and Fluxes
The Global Water Cycle
Carbon in Ecosystems
Productivity
Methods for Estimating Productivity
Decomposition and Soil Food Webs
Carbon Storage
Models of Ecosystem Carbon Cycles
Nitrogen and the Nitrogen Cycle at Ecosystem and Global Levels
Nitrogen Fixation
Other Sources of Nitrogen Input to Living Organisms
Nitrogen Mineralization
Denitrification and Leaching of Nitrogen
Decomposition Rates and Nitrogen Immobilization
Plant Uptake of Nitrogen
Phosphorus in Terrestrial Ecosystems
Ecosystem Nutrient Cycling and Plant Diversity
Ecosystem Processes for Some Other Elements
Sulfur
Calcium
Box 14A. Serpentine Soils
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

15. Communities in Landscapes
Comparing Communities
Non-numerical Techniques
Univariate Techniques
Multivariate Techniques
Landscape Patterns
Ordination: Describing Patterns
Determining Causes of Patterns
Types of Data
Classification
Box 15A. Differentiating Vegetation Based on Spectral Quality
Views on Continuous versus Discrete Landscapes
Landscape Diversity
Differentiation Diversity
Pattern Diversity
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

16. Landscape Ecology
Spatial Patterns
Six Types of Species-Area Curves
Defining Patches
Quantifying Patch Characteristics and Interrelationships
The Effects of Spatial Patterns on Ecological Processes
Scale
Definitions and Concepts
Process and Scale
Spatial and Ecological Scale
Quantifying Aspects of Spatial Pattern and Scale
Toward a Theoretical Basis for Landscape Patterns: Island Biogeography Theory
Metapopulation Theory
Box 16A. Metapopulation Models
Metapopulation Patterns
Species-Time-Area Relationships
Landscape Ecology and Conservation
Reserve Design
Fragmentation
Edges, Connectivity, and Nestedness
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

PART V. GLOBAL PATTERNS AND PROCESSES

17. Climate and Physiognomy
Climate and Weather
Temperature
Short-Term Variation in Radiation and Temperature
Long-Term Cycles
Precipitation
Global Patterns
Box 17A. The Coriolis Effect
Continental-Scale Patterns
Seasonal Variation in Precipitation
The El Niño Southern Oscillation
Predictability and Long-Term Change
Plant Physiognomy across the Globe
Forests
Tree Line
Grasslands and Woodlands
Shrublands and Deserts
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

18. Biomes
Categorizing Vegetation
Converging Biomes and Convergent Evolution
Moist Tropical Forests
Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Montane Forest
Seasonal Tropical Forests and Woodlands
Tropical Deciduous Forest
Thorn Forest
Tropical Woodland
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Other Temperate Forests and Woodlands
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate Evergreen Forest
Temperate Woodland
Taiga
Temperate Shrubland
Grasslands
Temperate Grassland
Tropical Savanna
Deserts
Hot Desert
Cold Desert
Alpine and Arctic Vegetation
Alpine Grassland and Shrubland
Tundra
Summary
Questions for Study and Thought
Additional Readings

19. Regional and Global Diversity
Large-Scale Patterns of Species Richness
General Factors Affecting Diversity
Levels of Explanation
Null Models
The Importance of Available Energy
Contributions of α, β, and γ Diversity
Diversity along Ecological Gradients
Productivity and Scale
Diversity along Latitudinal Gradients
An Array of Explanations
The Role of Diversity
Continental Differences
Other Geographic Patterns
Species Diversity and Patterns of Overlap
Endemism, Centers of Diversification, and Isolation
Relationships between Regional and Local Diversity
Box 19A. The Fynbos and the Cape Region of Africa
Noisy Data and Limits to Methodology
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

20. Paleoecology
The Paleozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era
The Dominance of Gymnosperms
The Breakup of Pangaea and the Rise of the Angiosperms
The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) Boundary
The Cenozoic Era
Paleoecology Methods
The Recent Past
At the Glacial Maximum
Glacial Retreat
Climatic Fluctuations in the Recent Past
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

21. Global Change: Humans and Plants
Carbon and Plant-Atmosphere Interactions
The Global Carbon Cycle
Direct Effects of Increasing CO2 on Plants
Anthropogenic Global Climate Change
The Greenhouse Effect
Global Climate Change: Evidence
Global Climate Change: Predictions
Box 21A. Modeling Climate
Biotic Consequences of Climate Change
Anthropogenic Effects on the Global Carbon Cycle
Deforestation
Fossil Fuel Combustion
Box 21B. Daily Human Activities and CO2 Generation
Acid Precipitation and Nitrogen Deposition
Declining Global Biodiversity and Its Causes
Habitat Fragmentation and Loss
Other Threats to Rare and Common Species in a Range of Communities
Invasive Species as Threats to Biodiversity
Human Populations and Land Use Patterns
A Ray of Hope?
Summary
Questions for Further Study
Additional Readings

Appendix: A Statistics Primer
Glossary
Photo Credits
Literature Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is the only volume I have seen that contains a good treatment of evolutionary and physiological ecology, as well as more traditional topics such as competition and herbivory, vegetation types, and biomes. Overall, this useful book, beautifully laid out and well written, fills an important gap in the educational literature on plant ecology. It is up to date and quantitatively sophisticated, and it provides a nice balance between presentation of facts and concepts and narration of evocative examples. I plan to continue to use this volume in my course and recommend it highly."—Ingrid M. Parker, The Quarterly Review of Biology

"Overall, The Ecology of Plants provides a useful and complete tool to teach plant ecology to undergraduate students. Therefore, I strongly recommend it."—Stéphane Boudreau, Écoscience

From the Publisher

Aiming to be inclusive since this text may be used in the only upper- level ecology course students take, Gurevich (State U. of New York at Stony Brook) and her coauthors cover the field from individual plants to global issues and provide context from relevant disciplines. The first three sections consider how individual plants interact with the environment; treat plant populations, including their evolution; and explore interactions among populations of different species. The last two sections progress to ever larger-scale patterns and processes. The book includes lots of graphics, b&w photos, a brief statistics primer, and a glossary of bolded terms. An introductory course in biology is assumed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)