This book brings together experts from different fields, who used a broad spectrum of methods to investigate the physiological and cellular adaptation of alpine plants from the tree line to the upper limits. Some articles link alpine plant physiology with physiological adaptations observed in polar plants. Tolerance against often high light intensities (including UV), cold or freezing temperatures, in addition to the need for fast tissue development, flowering, and propagation that is managed by alpine plants are to some extent underrepresented in recent research. This volume considers ice formation and winter conditions in alpine plants; the fate of cryophilic algae and microorganisms; cell structural adaptations; sexual reproduction in high altitudes; the physiology of photosynthesis, antioxidants, metabolites, carbon and nitrogen; and the influences of microclimate (temperatures at the plant level, heat tolerance), UV light, weather and ozone. Further information on life processes in alpine extreme environments may additionally yield new insights into the range of adaptation processes in lowland plants.

This is the first book to provide comprehensive information on the anatomy and ecology of arctic and alpine plants from cold sites around the globe, including representative species from Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, Himalaya, Japan, Argentina, Ecuador and Western USA. It presents the study sites, including characteristic landscape and vegetation photographs. It also discusses species distribution, habitat preferences and features plant pictures, particularly focusing on the specific stem anatomical features, which differ in many cases from temperate zone herbs. Furthermore, each plant is characterized according to a newly constructed codification system. Based on the first author’s 20-years of field research, a close collaboration with numerous botanical gardens, and the vast ecological experience of the other authors, the book presents approximately 350 species. The general layout is comparable to Doležal et al’s 2018 book Anatomy, Age and Ecology of High Mountain Plants in Ladakh, the Western Himalaya.

Environmental Assessment of Renewable Energy Conversion Technologies provides state-of-the-art coverage in both non-fossil energy conversion and storage techniques, as well as in their environmental assessment. This includes goal and scope, analysis boundaries, inventory and the impact assessment employed for the evaluation of these applications, as well as the environmental footprint of the technologies. The book compiles information currently available only in different sources concerning the environmental assessment of sustainable energy technologies, allowing for the comparative assessments of different technologies given specific boundary conditions, such as renewable potential and other specific features of discussed technologies. It offers readers a comprehensive overview of the entire energy supply chain, namely from production to storage, by allowing the consideration of different production and storage combinations, based on their environmental assessment. - Provides an overview of the environmental assessment process of renewable energy conversion and storage technologies - Includes state-of-the-art approaches and techniques for the comprehensive environmental assessment of individual sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies and their applications - Features comparative assessments of different technologies