Main description:

Physiology of Woody Plants, Fourth Edition has been fully revised and updated to include the significant progress that has been made in multiple fields of tree physiology, including woody plant responses to globally changing environments, the role of woody plants in biosphere-atmosphere interactions, and generalized trait-function relationships, including the multiple specialized and insightful contributions on individual facets of tree functioning and rich genetic information that has become available since the publication of the third edition. This reference is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as practitioners and researchers seeking to learn about different aspects of tree functioning.

This fourth edition includes both the classical concepts and recent developments in the field of tree physiology, and addresses a broad audience interested in gaining a basic understanding of woody plant functioning, as well as those wanting to refresh their knowledge of developments at the forefront of tree physiology. The book offers novel insight into the functioning of multiple physiological processes in woody plants, providing a basic interdisciplinary understanding of the controls of climatic and biotic factors responsible for tree growth in current and future climates.

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Form and structure of woody plants
3. Primary metabolic pathways, key metabolites and woody plant cells
4. Regulation of carbon fixation through photosynthesis
5. Respiration and construction cost of biomass
6. Mineral nutrition
7. Water uptake and transport
8. Transpiration and efficiency of water use
9. Photoassimilate transport and storage of metabolites
10. Regulation and timing of vegetative growth through seasons and climates
11. Reproductive growth, seed dispersal and germination
12. Senescence of plant organs and abscission
13. Juvenile to adult transfer
14. Secondary metabolic pathways, secretory structures, metabolites and defense
15. Structure-function trait relationships and woody plant dispersal in current and future climates