El. knyga: Plant Ecology

List of Contributors xi Preface to the Second Edition xiii Preface to the First Edition xv Photosynthesis 1(27) Harold A. Mooney James R. Ehleringer Introduction Background Photochemical reactions Biochemical reactions Environmental influences on photosynthetic capacity Light Carbon dioxide Temperature Photosynthesis with respect to water use Energy balance considerations Nutrients Atmospheric pollutants Seasonality of photosynthesis Individual leaves Whole plants Photosynthetic capacity and defence against herbivores Variations on the basic photosynthetic pathway Ecological consequences of different photosynthetic pathways Water-use efficiency Significance of temperature Climate change and photosynthesis Photosynthesis in the recent past and near-future CO2 environments Climate change and the evolution of photosynthetic pathways Conclusions Plant Water Relations 28(23) John Grace Introduction: water and life Water as a physical and chemical medium State of water in the plant Acquiring and conserving water on land Water as a limiting resource Transpiration rate Energetics Stomatal conductance Soil-plant-atmosphere continuum Pathway Pipe model of hydraulic architecture How vulnerable is the pipeline? Water relations and plant distribution patterns Water, carbon and nutrient relations Concluding remarks Nutrient Acquisition 51(22) Alastair Fitter Availability of nutrients Nutrient uptake by root systems Transport through the soil Transport across the root Responses to nutrient deficiency Modifying the rhizosphere Resource allocation Symbioses Heterogeneity Patchiness Responses to patches Turnover Summary Life History and Environment 73(59) Michael J. Crawley Introduction Neighbourhoods Life history The growth forms of plants Annual plants Monocarpic perennials Herbaceous perennial plants Trees and shrubs Trade-offs Colonization/competitive ability Root growth/shoot growth Palatability/competitive ability Seed size/seed number Seed size/seedling performance Seed size/dormancy Dormancy/dispersal Longevity/growth rate Longevity/reproductive output Resource extraction/growth rate Defence/growth rate Growth/reproduction Male/female reproductive function Shade growth rate/shade death rate Gap/forest regeneration niche Sun leaves/shade leaves and water/light Growth rate/nutrient retention Fruit weight/seed weight Pollen quantity/pollen quality Flammability/competitive ability Canopy architecture Modular growth Integration of plant growth Allometry Plant height Leaf arrangement Phyllotaxis Switch from growth to reproduction Ageing and senescence Environmental factors affecting plant performance Fire Drought Waterlogging Shade Disturbance Low nutrient availability Soil acidity Heavy metals in soil Salinity Atmospheric pollutants Exposure Trampling Extremes of heat Mutualists Enemies Nurse plants Conclusions Plant Secondary Metabolism 132(24) Jeffrey B. Harborne Introduction Secondary metabolites Terpenoid metabolites Monoterpenoids Sesquiterpenoids Triterpenoids Nitrogen-containing metabolites Phenolic metabolites Conclusions Sex 156(58) Michael J. Crawley Introduction Sex: why bother? Costs of sex Benefits of sex Variable progeny and individual fitness Mating systems Inbreeding and outbreeding Population genetics of inbreeding Inbreeding depression Heterosis (hybrid vigour) Outbreeding depression Kinds of self-pollination Sex types Incompatibility systems Prevention of self-pollination Evolution of self-pollination from a cross-pollinating ancestor Limits to reproductive output Resource-limited fecundity Pollen-limited fecundity Population regulation Monocarpy and polycarpy Pollination by wind Pollination by animals Flowering phenology Nectar reward Pollen reward Plant spatial pattern Sexual investment by hermaphrodites Measuring the costs of male and female function Theory of male and female investment Agamospermy: seeds without sex Sex ratios and variable sex expression Sex determination in plants Labile sex expression and environmental conditions Monoecy Dioecy Population genetics and genetic neighbourhoods Minimum viable population (MVP) Genetic drift Effective population size Mutation Selection Components of variance Gene flow through migration Gene flow through pollen Assortative and disassortative mating Venereal diseases of plants Gene flow through seed dispersal Sex on islands Local mate competition Mate choice in plants Conflicts of interest Case studies Paternity analysis Male fitness and pollen flow Selfing and inbreeding depression Conclusions Seed Dormancy 214(25) Mark Rees Introduction Types of seeds Definitions of dormancy Seeds and the environment Effects of light Effects of the chemical environment Effects of temperature Other germination cues Seed banks Temporal dynamics Physical structure Population persistence Population dynamics and coexistence Evolution of dormancy Relationships between regenerative and established plant traits Conclusions Mechanisms of Plant Competition 239(23) David Tilman Introduction Competition in natural plant communities Competition in a grassland field Limiting resources Competition for nitrogen and light A single limiting resource The R* concept (R star) Resource dynamics Competition for a limiting resource Tests of the R* hypothesis Competition for two resources Resource isoclines Resource consumption vectors Resource supply vectors Coexistence and displacement Experimental tests Multispecies communities Spatially discrete individuals Spatial heterogeneity Resource fluctuations and non-equilibrium conditions Multiple trophic levels Conclusions Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal 262(22) Henry F. Howe Lynn C. Westley Introduction Challenges of a sedentary existence Adaptive trends Flowers and pollinators Fruits and frugivores Coevolution or co-occurrence? Reproductive imperatives of success and failure Pollen success and failure Fertilized, unfertilized and aborted ovules Dispersed and undispersed seeds Adjusting to physical and biological reality Physical environment Adjusting to neighbours Conclusions Plant Chemistry and Herbivory, or Why the World is Green 284(41) Susan E. Hartley Clive G. Jones Why is the world green? Plants are poor food: they have `cruddy ingredients Nitrogen limitation of herbivores Secondary metabolites and herbivores Last thoughts on secondary metabolism and how green the world is Plants are poor food: they are unpredictable Intrinsic heterogeneity Extrinsic heterogeneity Last thoughts on unpredictability and how green the world is Herbivores are between the devil and the deep blue sea Conclusions The Structure of Plant Populations 325(34) Michael J. Hutchings Introduction Performance structure in plant populations Plant weights Other aspects of performance Spatial structure of plant populations Spatial structure of seed and seedling populations Spatial structure of populations of established plants Age structure in plant populations The seed bank: dispersal in time Age structure of the growing plants in populations Age structure of populations of modules Genetic structure of plant populations Abiotic influences on population structure Plant Population Dynamics 359(42) Andrew R. Watkinson Introduction Population flux Population regulation The individual and the population The fates of individuals Fates of seeds Fates of individuals classified according to age and stage Population models Matrix models Difference equations Density-dependence Population dynamics Annual plants Perennial plants Interactions in mixtures of species Interspecific competition Mutualism Concluding remarks Plant-Herbivore Dynamics 401(74) Michael J. Crawley Introduction Herbivores and plant performance Seedling growth and survival Shoot growth Root growth Plant shape Flowering Fruiting and fruit dispersal Seed production Seed predation Mast fruiting and predator satiation Mature plant death rate Herbivores and plant vigour Herbivory and plant productivity Plant stress hypothesis Plant vigour hypothesis Herbivore-plant-herbivore interactions Plant compensation Reduced rates of fruit and seed abortion Grasses Trees Shrubs Herbs Hebivores and plant fitness Overgrazing Herbivores and plant genetics Herbivores and atmospheric CO2 Herbivores and plant population dynamics Herbivory and plant competition Herbivores and plant demography Generalists and specialists Plant growth Herbivore functional responses Herbivore numerical responses Herbivore density dependence Granivory: the dynamics of seed predation Case studies Keystone herbivores: the kangaroo rats of southern Arizona Exclusion experiments using fences against large vertebrate herbivores Cyclic herbivore populations Weed biocontrol Exclusion experiments involving insect herbivores and chemical pesticides Herbivores and plant diversity Selective herbivory and the identity of the dominant plant species Selective herbivory and plant species richness Herbivores and plant succession Primary succession Secondary succession Summary The Structure of Plant Communities 475(57) Michael J. Crawley Introduction Definition of plant community Clements view of community structure Gleasons view of community structure The modern synthesis The niche concept Species richness Spatial heterogeneity Temporal variation Competitive ability/dispersal trade-off Niche separation and resource partitioning Herbivory and the palatability/competitive ability trade-off Disturbance Refuges Alpha, beta and gamma diversity Species richness in the Park Grass Experiment: a case study Evenness and relative abundance Species-area effects Biogeography Species abundance distributions Physical structure of plant communities Life-forms in plant communities Vertical structure of plant communities Spatial structure of plant communities Allelopathy and spatial patterns Quantitative methods for describing spatial patterns Spatial patterns and quadrat size Spatial patterns reflecting temporal changes Succession Interglacial cycles Primary succession Secondary succession Models of spatial dynamics Metapopulation models Patch models Reaction diffusion models Cellular automata Coupled map lattice Conclusions Dynamics of Plant Communities 532(24) Stephen W. Pacala Introduction Simple models of ideas Competition/colonization trade-off Resource partitioning Temporal partitioning: the storage effect Janzen-Connell hypothesis Empirical tests Models of natural systems Spatial segregation hypothesis Empirical evidence for the spatial segregation hypothesis Conclusions Plants in Trophic Webs 556(12) James P. Grover Robert D. Holt Plants and Pollution 568(14) Mike Ashmore Introduction Effects on individual plants Effects on species interactions Evolutionary responses Community-level effects Concluding remarks Climate Change and Vegetation 582(13) J. Philip Grime Introduction Importance of land use Current predictions World vegetation patterns Regional vegetation patterns Current research A research protocol Screening of plant attributes Formal searches for plant functional types Monitoring of vegetation responses to climate Manipulative experiments Conclusions Biodiversity 595(38) Michael J. Crawley Introduction The number of plant species Origins of plant biodiversity Postglacial changes in plant biodiversity Current geographical distribution of biodiversity Biodiversity hot-spots Cape floral kingdom of South Africa Island floras Variation in plant biodiversity within the British Isles Threats to biodiversity Species loss in Britain Species loss in tropical environments Urbanization Enforcement of conservation legislation Alien plants Notions of invasive and non-invasive species Problem plants What are the problem plants? Problem plants in other countries Overview of problem plants Plant conservation Parks and nature reserves Habitat restoration Botanic gardens Gene banks Food plant conservation Economics of plant conservation Conclusions References 633(68) Index 701

Michael J. Crawley, FRS, is with the Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. He is the author of three bestselling Wiley statistics titles and five life science books.