Physiological ecology of plants of the wet tropics

Proceedings of an International Symposium Held in Oxatepec and Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, June 29 to July 6, 1983
1984
ISBN: 978-94-009-7301-5
Verlag: Springer Netherlands

Buch, Englisch, Band 12, 254 Seiten, Format (B × H): 195 mm x 260 mm, Gewicht: 564 g

Reihe: Tasks for Vegetation Science

This book contains the results of a Symposium on the physiological ecology of plants of the lowland wet tropics held in Mexico in June 1983 organized by the Instituto de Biologla of the National University of M"exico (U. N. A. M. ), and sponsored by UNAM, CONACYT, NSF and UNESCO (CIET). A workshop portion of the Symposium was held at the tropical research station at Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. This Symposium originated in response to the increasing interest in the physiological ecology of tropical plants, because of the potential. of this field to provide a basic understanding of functioning of tropical plant communities. The study of physiological ecology of tropical plants has been delayed in some cases by the lack of conceptual framework, but also by the absence of appropriate instrumentation and techniques with which to conduct precise measurements under high temperature, high humidity field conditions. Hypotheses and concepts of the physiological ecology of tropical plants have been based mainly on observational data and the analysis of growth forms and leaf anatomf. The early work of A. F. W. Schimper and o. Stocker in Asia, and the extensive surveys made by H. Walter on the osmotic potentials of plants in the tropics and subtropics, constituted, until relatively recently, the only available information on the water and carbon relations of tropical plants.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Medina, Ernesto

Vazquez-Yanes, C.

Mooney, H.A.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

One: Physical Environment.- 1. Nutrient regime in the wet tropics: physical factors.- 2. Physical aspects of the water regime of wet tropical vegetation.- 3. Light environments of tropical forests.- Two: Establishment.- 4. Ecophysiology of seed germination in the tropical humid forests of the world: a review.- Three: Leaf-environment Interactions.- 5. Leaf and Canopy adaptations in tropical forests.- 6. Leaf energy balance in the wet lowland tropics.- Four: Physiological Processes.- 7. Tissue water deficits and plant growth in wet tropical environments.- 8. Photosynthetic characteristics of wet tropical forest plants.- 9. Measuring gas exchange of plants in the wet tropics.- 10. Nutrient balance and physiological processes at the leaf level.- Five: Epiphytes and Mycorrhizae.- 11. Epiphytic vegetation: a profile and suggestions for future inquiries.- 12. Methods for vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza research in the lowland wet tropics.- Six: Plant-Herbivore Interactions.- 13. The roles of plant secondary chemicals in wet tropical ecosystems.- 14. Insect-plant interactions: some ecophysiological consequences of herbivory.- 15. Assessing the effects of herbivory.- Seven: Species Function and Forest Structure.- 16. Dynamics of wet tropical forests and their species strategies.