Institute of Botany
Sect. Plant Ecology
Ch. Körner - Alpine Plant Life
Christian Körner
Alpine Plant Life - Functional Plant Ecology of High Mountain Ecosystems
1. ed. 1999, 2. ed. 2003
XI, 344 p. 218 illus. and 4 color plates with 32 photos
Hardback
XI, 344 p. 218 illus. and 4 color plates with 32 photos
Hardback
Springer, Heidelberg
ISBN 3-540-00347-9
EUR 54.95, £ 39.-
ISBN 3-540-00347-9
EUR 54.95, £ 39.-
Alpine Plant Life has been translated into
Chinese, Science Press, Beijing, 2008
Georgian, Ilia Chavchavadze State University Publishing, Tbilisi
Chinese, Science Press, Beijing, 2008
Georgian, Ilia Chavchavadze State University Publishing, Tbilisi
Generations of plant scientists have been fascinated by alpine plant life - with the exposure of organisms to dramatic climatic gradients over a very short distance.
This comprehensive text treats a wide range of topics: alpine climate and soils, plant distribution and the treeline phenomenon, physiological ecology of water-, nutritional- and carbon relations of alpine plants, plant stress and plant development, biomass production, aspects of reproductive biology, and human impacts on alpine vegetation. Geographically the book covers all parts of the world including the tropics.
This new edition of Alpine Plant Life has been fully updated. It now includes over a hundred new references, new diagrams, revised and extended chapters, and a geographic index.
This comprehensive text treats a wide range of topics: alpine climate and soils, plant distribution and the treeline phenomenon, physiological ecology of water-, nutritional- and carbon relations of alpine plants, plant stress and plant development, biomass production, aspects of reproductive biology, and human impacts on alpine vegetation. Geographically the book covers all parts of the world including the tropics.
This new edition of Alpine Plant Life has been fully updated. It now includes over a hundred new references, new diagrams, revised and extended chapters, and a geographic index.
From the reviews of the first edition
«This book should be required reading for all ecologists and ecology students. Modern treatment of alpine ecology and the inclusion of tropics and good treatment of tropical alpine environments makes this book unique. ...the best modern treatment of "functional ecology" of alpine plants. Both the author and the publisher should be commended for this book.»(Botanical Electronic News)
«For anyone interested in alpine plant ecology (or ecophysiology) this book is a must, being encyclopaedic in both scope and information content. Though it deals with potentially complex topics, the book has been organised carefully and logically, and the topics are treated with a simple yet elegant writing style which exudes the author's enthusiasm and fascination. It was a delight to read, like a good novel that one is reluctant to set down. ... a most impressive and comprehensive, up-to-the-minute book by undoubtedly the world's foremost alpine plant ecologist and ecophysiologist.» (New Zealand Journal of Ecology)
«The structure of the book and the approach in presenting information make it easy to read. Highlighted information throughout the chapters and summaries at the end of each chapter assist readers in recapturing important information. Color plates included at the end of the book serve as a good summary of the book's contents. ... provides the most up-to-date information about the ecology of plants at high altitudes.» (Mountain Research and Development)
Contents
1 Plant ecology at high elevations
The concept of limitation
A regional and historical account The challenge of alpine plant research 2 The alpine life zone
Altitudinal boundaries
Global alpine land area Alpine plant diversity Origin of alpine floras Alpine growth forms 3 Alpine climate
Which alpine climate?
Common features of alpine climates Regional features of alpine climates 4 The climate plants experience
Interactions of relief,wind and sun
How alpine plants influence their climate 5 Life under snow:protection and limitation
Temperatures under snow
Solar radiation under snow Gas concentrations under snow Plant responses to snowpack 6 Alpine soils
Physics of alpine soil formation
The organic compound The interaction of organic and inorganic compounds 7 Alpine treelines
About trees and lines
Current altitudinal positions of climatic treelines Treeline-climate relationships Intrazonal variations and pantropical plateauing of alpine treelines |
Treelines in the past
Attempts at a functional explanation of treelines A hypothesis for treeline formation Growth trends near treelines 8 Climatic stress
Survival of low temperature extremes
Avoidance and tolerance of low temperature extremes Heat stress in alpine plants Ultraviolet radiation – a stress factor? 9 Water relations
Ecosystem water balance
Soil moisture at high altitudes Plant water relations:a briefreview of principles Water relations of alpine plants Desiccation stress Water relations of special plant types 10 Mineral nutrition
Soil nutrients
The nutritional status of alpine plants Nutrient cycling and nutrient budgets Nitrogen fixation Mycorrhiza Responses of vegetation to variable nutrient supply 11 Uptake and loss of carbon
Photosynthetic capacity of alpine plants
Photosynthetic responses to the environment Daily carbon gain of leaves The seasonal carbon gain of leaves Cand CAM photosynthesis at high altitudes Tissue respiration of alpine plants Ecosystem carbon balance |
12 Carbon investments
Non-structural carbohydrates
Lipids and energy content Carbon costs of leaves and roots Whole plant carbon allocation 13 Growth dynamics
Seasonal growth
Rates of plant dry matter accumulation Functional duration of leaves and roots 14 Cell division and tissue formation
Cell size and plant size
Mitosis and the cell cycle From meristem activity to growth control 15 Plant biomass production
The structure of alpine plant canopies
Primary productivity of alpine vegetation Plant dry matter pools Biomass losses through herbivores 16 Plant reproduction
Flowering and pollination
Seed development and seed size Germination Alpine seed banks and natural recruitment Clonal propagation Alpine plant age 17 Global change at high elevation
Alpine land use
The impact of altered atmospheric chemistry Climatic change and alpine ecosystems |
