Plant Ecology
Origins, Processes, Consequences
2nd Edition
- Author: Paul A. Keddy
- Date Published: June 2017
- availability: Available
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781107114234
Hardback
-
Presenting a global and interdisciplinary approach to plant ecology, this much-awaited new edition of the book Plants and Vegetation integrates classical themes with the latest ideas, models, and data. Keddy draws on extensive teaching experience to bring the field to life, guiding students through essential concepts with numerous real-world examples and full-colour illustrations throughout. The chapters begin by presenting the wider picture of the origin of plants and their impact on the Earth, before exploring the search for global patterns in plants and vegetation. Chapters on resources, stress, competition, herbivory, and mutualism explore causation, and a concluding chapter on conservation addresses the concern that one-third of all plant species are at risk of extinction. The scope of this edition is broadened further by a new chapter on population ecology, along with extensive examples including South African deserts, the Guyana Highlands of South America, Himalayan forests and arctic alpine environments.
Read more- Written in a lively and engaging style by an experienced teacher, guiding students through essential concepts with numerous real-world examples and full-colour illustrations throughout
- Emphasizes unifying, underlying principles and processes, encouraging students to explore and discover more about this fascinating field
- Detailed further reading lists and study questions within each chapter reinforce learning for both undergraduate and graduate students
Reviews & endorsements
'Keddy's Plant Ecology is a refreshing synthesis of the core concepts of the discipline. It is a remarkably readable book that is brimming with vivid stories about the central role of plants in the biosphere. This milestone in the canon of ecological literature pays homage to the previous generations of plant ecologists that built the field as we know it. The organisation is unconventional yet intuitive, the prose is animated yet enlightening, and the revised figures are both colourful and instructive. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to acquire a broad understanding of plant ecology.' Daniel Laughlin, The University of Waikato, New Zealand
See more reviews'In the early pages of this distinctive and engaging book Paul Keddy explains the underrated foundational role of plants in the origin of life on Earth. This is followed in masterfully discerning style over several chapters by arguments and evidence in which he champions the plant ecologists who are advancing specific sets of plant functional traits as the basis of vegetation patterns and as key factors in ecosystem structure and dynamics and responses to climate and management. Finally in conclusion, Keddy identifies and reproaches Man as the remorseless destroyer of our plant heritage and casts a critical eye at current efforts at conservation and restoration.' Philip Grime, Buxton Climate Change Impacts Lab, University of Sheffield
'The new volume by Paul A. Keddy … provides a comprehensive overview of major concepts and hypotheses in ecology in general and plant ecology in particular. Because of the presentation of the basic concepts, this textbook could easily function as a teaching tool for general ecology, using plants as a focus group, with leaving only some subfields, such as behavioral ecology, untouched. As a volume for a plant ecology class, it provides everything that biology or ecology students can wish for, most importantly a very solid conceptual framework for the organization of knowledge on the subject.' André Kessler, The Quarterly Review of Biology
Customer reviews
17th Oct 2024 by UName-710833
Rarely do texts keep you engaged with the material, but Paul Keddy's Plant Ecology is one of those few--a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. This text is an engaging and informative review of the field of plant ecology and Paul's deep knowledge of the subject comes through in every chapter, and his personal perspective brings the material to life. I wish I was teaching plant ecology just so that I could use this text in one of my courses! Of all of the texts I've used in various courses over the past 40 years, this is the first one that kept me looking forward to seeing what insights the next chapter would reveal. As such, I highly recommend everyone with any interest in plants and their ecology, be it from an academic perspective or from a citizen science perspective, read this book
See all reviews17th Oct 2024 by UName-649052
I have just begun to read this book for my Plant Ecology class but noticed that on page 27 Eduard Suess is referred to as an Australian Geologist when he grew up in Vienna, so maybe Austrian should have been used. I'll continue to make notes if need be. I and my students do like this text.
17th Oct 2024 by UName-683170
An interesting and well-written account of how plant communities function, filled with fascinating examples of plants and people. This book would be ideal for one or two semester courses in plant ecology, or just for general reading.
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Edition: 2nd Edition
- Date Published: June 2017
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781107114234
- length: 624 pages
- dimensions: 255 x 198 x 31 mm
- weight: 1.53kg
- contains: 187 b/w illus. 192 colour illus. 64 tables 89 exercises
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Plants create the biosphere
2. The search for global patterns
3. Resources
4. Competition
5. Disturbance
6. Herbivores
7. Positive interactions
8. Time
9. Populations
10. Stress
11. Gradients and plant communities
12. Diversity
13. Conservation and management
Questions for review
References
Glossary
Index.
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