BOTANY VOLUME 4 - ECOLOGY - 2007

Introduction

Previous volumes of the "Botany" textbook focused on plant METABOLISM, development, Structure, and evolution, culminating in the vast diversity of plant forms. The final chapters, 12 through 15, aim to demonstrate the remarkable adaptability of plants to their environments. They examine the mechanisms of habitat colonization, how plants adjust to changing abiotic and biotic external conditions, survive extreme situations, and withstand competition, ultimately forming populations and communities through these reactions and traits. Taken as a whole, these communities shape the character of Earth's entire ecosystem.

Ecological botany investigates plant responses that ensure basic life processes, such as Photosynthesis and mitochondrial Respiration, can proceed stably within a uniform cellular environment despite the almost immeasurably diverse conditions of existence. Alongside physiological reactions, adjustments in life rhythms and Morphology play a crucial role—traits whose range of variation is highly specific. Ultimately, The Challenge of coping with varied environmental conditions is met in nature through the Selection of genotypes or the replacement of entire species assemblages. The foundation of functional ecological botany, which also seeks to clarify these phenomena, rests upon physiology, morphology, reproductive biology and genetics, Taxonomy, and geobotany. A foundational knowledge of climate and soils (and, in specific cases, microbiology) is equally essential.

Scientific ecology, alongside Molecular Genetics, ranks among the youngest biological sciences, having achieved monumental breakthroughs over past decades (much like nuclear physics and astrophysics). Characteristically, both fields focus on objects at the extreme ends of the scale—the microscopic and the macroscopic. Navigating through the complex, interwoven relationships among organisms—which are difficult to comprehend in their entirety—has forged a new understanding of nature and revealed the relative significance of many structures and processes operating at the level of the individual.

Subsequent chapters are structured to provide first a conceptual Overview and General Principles (Ch. 12), followed by a synthesis of how plants adapt to climatic and edaphic factors (Ch. 13). Next, plant populations and biocenoses are explored through population biology, biotic interactions, and geobotany (Ch. 14). Finally, the cumulative result of all these influences and responses is presented in a comprehensive survey of global vegetation (Ch. 15).

Naturally, ecological botany focuses primarily on terrestrial biocenoses, with a particular emphasis on dominant seed plants. For terrestrial spore-producing plants, readers should refer to Chapter 11. Aquatic biocenoses fall within the domain of hydrobiology (marine biology for oceans, limnology for freshwaters); their issues can only be touched upon briefly here. Chapter 11 also provides remarks on the growth and Water/8.html">LIFE FORMS OF Algae.

Acknowledgments

While the core sections of "Botany"—much like a fine wine Aging over the years—reflected the invaluable work of previous generations and accumulated knowledge despite numerous innovations, plant ecology in many areas had to start from scratch. In this young subdiscipline of biology, much is still shifting, and The complexity of the subject conflicts with the didactic generalizations required by The Scope of a textbook. Where space for Discussion is limited, illustrations can help. Most of the graphics, with the exception of figures taken from earlier editions, were produced within a year by the lecture department at the University of Basel. They reflect the talent of my associate, Susanne Pelaez-Riedl, who managed to transform often highly fragmentary sketches into clear illustrations. I extend my heartfelt thanks to her for her patience and creative involvement.

The chapters in this section Touch upon several topics treated differently in other textbooks. Naturally, the selection of material and its reduction to the essentials always involves a degree of subjectivity. Because brevity is not always a sign of talent but can harbor the danger of misleading simplifications, I greatly value the comments and corrections provided for specific chapter sections by qualified experts: K. Beyerklein (Rostock), P. Blaser (Birmensdorf), C. Breckle (Bielefeld), B. Erschbamer (Innsbruck), M. Fischer (Zurich), H. Glatzel and G. Grabherr (Vienna), J. W. Kadereit (Mainz), W. Larcher (Innsbruck), R. Matisek (Munich), H. Poorter (Utrecht), H. Richter (Vienna), B. Schmid (Zurich), R. Siegwolf (Würenlingen), P. Sitte (Freiburg), E. Spên (Basel), J. Stöcklin (Basel), U. Tappeiner (Innsbruck), and H. Veit (Bern). I offer my sincere thanks to all of them.

Because the core sections of this book part were newly incorporated into "Botany," they have not yet undergone the "maturation" process of multiple editions. I will be particularly grateful to readers who point out errors or suggest necessary additions.

Class="right">Christian Körner
Basel, February 2002