Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Deserts provide a seemingly hostile environment in which plants can, nevertheless, survive and grow. The book considers the ecological problems posed by the desert environment, and the varied physiological and ecological strategies adopted by desert succulents to overcome these problems.^L Much previously unpublished data on the physiological ecology of the succulent flora of southern Africa is presented--the results of more than ten years' work by the authors, both in the field and the laboratory. This new information forms the basis for a better understanding of the water relations and carbon balance of succulents during short and long term drought and leads the authors to a new definition of succulence as a tool for the temporary storage of water, essential for the conservation of physiological performance during times of drought. The authors conclude by providing a basic scheme in which the significant functional aspects of succulent life strategies are given, revealing the main trends in the biology of these fascinating plants.
Life Strategies of Succulents in Deserts: With Special Reference to the Namib Desert (Cambridge Studies in Ecology),Dieter J. von Willert,Benno M. Eller,Marinus J. A. Werger,Enno Brinckmann,Hans-Dieter Ihlenfeldt,H. J. B. Birks,J. A. Wiens,Cambridge University Press,0521244684,Desert plants,Ecophysiology,Namib Desert,Namibia,Nature/Ecology,Succulent Plants,Environmental science,Plant ecology,Science / Biology
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