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Forest Decline and Ozone: A Comparison of Controlled Chamber and Field Experiments (Ecological Studies Book 127)
Sandermann H. а.о.,The idea for this book arose in 1993, after the Free State of Bavaria through its Bayrisches Staatsministerium rur Landesentwicklung und Umweltfragen (Bavarian Ministry of Regional Development and the Environment) decided to discontinue both the Bavarian project management (PBWU) for forest decline research and the multidisciplinary field research on the Wank Mountain in the Alps near Garmisch. Forest decline through the action of ozone and other photooxidants was a main topic of the supported re search in the Alps and will be a topic of new investigations in the Bavarian Forest. Many interesting results were obtained, but the researchers involved have not had sufficient time to allow reliable conclusions to be drawn. It was therefore decided to ask inter national experts for contributions in order to summarize the best available evidence of a possible link between ozone and forest decline - a topic which has been studied in the USA since the late 1950s and in Europe since the early 1980s.
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Crassulacean Acid Metabolism: Biochemistry, Ecophysiology and Evolution: 114 (Ecological Studies)
Winter K. Smith J.A.C.,Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) represents one of the best-studied metabolic examples of an ecological adaptation to environmental stress. Well over 5 % of all vascular plant species engage in this water-conserving photosynthetic pathway. Intensified research activities over the last 10 years have led to major advances in understanding the biology of CAM plants. New areas of research reviewed in detail in this book include regulation of gene expression and the molecular basis of CAM, the ecophysiology of CAM plants from tropical environments, the productivity of agronomically important cacti and agaves, the ecophysiology of CAM in submerged aquatic plants, and the taxonomic diversity and evolutionary origins of CAM.
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Climate Change and Rice
Peng S. а.о.,Among basic human needs, food is foremost. Finding sufficient, affordable food is still the major concern of one in every five persons on earth. Rice is the basic staple for more than half of the world - and will continue to be well into the future. For this reason, the Interna tional Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has set the goal of improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes. As we look toward the 21st century, several important issues cloud food security. World population is growing by almost 100 million people per year, and it is not likely to plateau before the end of the next century. This means that food demand will at least double, and may quadruple. The technologies of the Green Revolution have provided an unprecedented leap in annual rice production, enough to feed 600 million more people, but have had unforeseen social and environmental costs. Loss of genetic diversity and misuse of pesti cides endanger the sustainability of the Green Revolution.
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Air Pollution Dimensions, Trends and Interactions with a Forest Ecosystem
Walfried Michaelis,In the early 1980s, forest decline became a matter of public and scientific concern when forest stands with Norway spruce (Picea abies [L. ] Karst. ) showed evident damage on a large geographical scale throughout Europe. The causes of the observed symptoms could not be elucidated on the basis of the state of knowledge at that time. Therefore, several research projects were launched both in Germany and in some other countries in order to identify the relevant pathogenic factors. In 1985, the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology decided to include the site "Postturm", forest district Farchau/Ratzeburg, in the spon sorship of the research on forest decline as a site typical for lowlands and a sphere of anthropogenic urban influence. The investigation area is situated about 40 krn east-northeast of the city of Hamburg.