Before any other influences began to fashion life and its lavish diversity, geological events created the initial environments--both physical and chemical--for the evolutionary drama that followed. Drawing on case histories from around the world, Arthur Kruckeberg demonstrates the role of landforms and rock types in producing the unique geographical distributions of plants and in stimulating evolutionary diversification. His examples range throughout the rich and heterogeneous tapestry of the earth's surface: the dramatic variations of mountainous topography, the undulating ground and crevices of level limestone karst, and the subtle realm of sand dunes. He describes the ongoing evolutionary consequences of the geology-plant interface and the often underestimated role of geology in shaping climate. Kruckeberg explores the fundamental connection between plants and geology, including the historical roots of geobotany, the reciprocal relations between geology and other environmental influences, geomorphology and its connection with plant life, lithology as a potent selective agent for plants, and the physical and biological influences of soils. Special emphasis is given to the responses of plants to exceptional rock types and their soils--serpentines, limestones, and other azonal (exceptional) substrates. Edaphic ecology, especially of serpentines, has been his specialty for years. Kruckeberg's research fills a significant gap in the field of environmental science by connecting the conventionally separated disciplines of the physical and biological sciences. Geology and Plant Life is the result of more than forty years of research into the question of why certain plants grow on certain soils and certain terrain structures, and what happens when this relationship is disrupted by human agents. It will be useful to a wide spectrum of professionals in the natural sciences: plant ecologists, paleobiologists, climatologists, soil scientists, geologists, geographers, and conservation scientists, as well as serious amateurs in natural history.

William Curtis (11 January 1746 in Alton, Hampshire; 7 July 1799 in Brompton) was an English botanist, apothecary and entomologist. His official botanical author code is "Curtis". Curtis was head of the Chelsea Physic Garden. He founded botanical gardens at Bermondsey, Lambeth in 1771 and Brompton in 1789. In 1787 Curtis founded the Botanical Magazine and was its editor until his death.

There has been tremendous progress in the genetic transformation of agricultural crops, and plants resistant to insects, herbicides,and diseases have been produced, field tested and patented. Transgenic Crops III compiles this information on ornamental, aromatic, medicinal and various other crops. It comprises 26 chapters and is divided into two sections. I. Ornamental, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: Anthurium, Antirrhinum, Artemisia, Begonia, Campanula, carnation, chrysanthemum, Dendrobium, Eustoma, Gentiana, Gerbera, Gladiolus, Hyoscyamus muticus, Hyssopus officinalis, ornamental Ipomoea, Leontopodium alpinum, Nierembergia, Phalaenopsis, Rudbeckia, Tagetes, and Torenia. II. Miscellaneous Plants: Craterostigma plantagineum, Flaveria bidentis, Moricandia Solanum brevidens, and freshwater wetland monocots. The book is of special interest to advanced students, teachers and research workers in the fields of plant breeding, genetics, molecular biology, plant tissue culture and plant biotechnology in general.

The coming of the darwinian theory of natural selection. Contacts with darwinism the podostemaceas. Contacts with darwinism endemism age and area. The hollow curve. Contacts with daewinism mutation. Contacts with darwinism adaptation. Isolation. Differentiation. Divergence of variation. Some test cases between the rival theories A. Numerical. Some test cases between the rival theories. B. Morphological. Some test cases between the rival theories. C. Taxonomic. Some test cases between the rival theories. D. Geographical distribuition.

The landscape and vegetation of the Dolomites have characteristics that are very particular. Some 2300 species live here, about a fifth of the flora in Europe as a whole. This book depicts what the plant cover of the Dolomites is composed of, how it was formed, and what future evolution may bring. The data presented is based on the authors’ combined botanical research, which consists of thousands of surveys throughout the entire region of the Dolomites. To explain the vegetation, 106 plant communities are described in detailed datasheets. Biological, geological, climatic and physical-chemical parameters are given for each plant community, including a description of the habitat, the indicator species, the floristic composition, distribution, conservation, and alteration risks, as well as a distribution map and a photo of the association. The associations are grouped into habitats, such as the human habitat, natural forests and meadows on the valley floor, the coniferous forest belt, screes, alpine vegetation on granite, porphyry, and volcanic rock, as well as on dolomite and limestones. In closing, the authors make a case for using the scientific information provided in the book for the conservation of the Dolomites, the heritage of all humanity. Additional in-depth analysis will be presented in the supplementary volumes “Plant Life of the Dolomites: Vegetation Tables” and “Plant Life of the Dolomites: Atlas of Flora.”

A practical guide to the protection and management of ecosystems against invasions by non-indigenous plant species. The authors seek to offer an accessible account of the subject and how to protect natural habitats. The majority of countries suffer from invasive plants and there are case studies from North America, Europe, Australia, South and South East Asia and the Pacific and Atlantic islands. There is also a list of invasive species, with their countries of origin and regions of introduction.

Ancient pastoralism and pastoral economies are currently absorbing much scholarly interest, as part of the wider problem of understanding the social and economic life of rural communities. In antiquity the rural poor formed the vast majority of the population and were the main producers of wealth. Yet what is written about them in our sources is disproportionately small and often has to be quarried from authors who had little interest in the subject and whose information was distorted by romantic myths of the past. In recent years, however, archaeology, comparative anthropology and new techniques of historical criticism have been able to supplement our knowledge and have stimulated a reexamination of previously accepted theories. The papers in this volume are a contribution to that debate. They range from the archaic societies of Greece and Rome to the last days of the Roman Empire, with contibutions from both archaeologists and historians, some of whose views are controversial and throw entirely new light on the subject.