Park S. Nobel pioneered the coupling of cellular physical chemistry with plant physiology, providing a sound physicochemical interpretation of the laws of diffusion to a rapidly expanding field of plant physiological ecology. His classical textbook is the only one of its kind to provide an extensive array of quantitative problems and solutions in the field of plant biophysics and ecophysiology, extending from the molecular to the ecological level. In this festschrift, former graduate students and postdocs, as well as colleagues of Prof. Nobel present a series of reviews that include scales from sub-cellular to global, and topics that range from desert succulent biology to the physiology of alpine plants, encompassing basic research and applications in agronomy and conservation biology. This state-of-the-field survey provides current and useful information for professionals and graduate students, while illustrating the broad span of the influence that Nobel's career has had on modern ecophysiology.

This book presents the state-of-the-art in plant ecophysiology. With a particular focus on adaptation to a changing environment, it discusses ecophysiology and adaptive mechanisms of plants under climate change. Over the centuries, the incidence of various abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought, extreme temperatures, atmospheric pollution, metal toxicity due to climate change have regularly affected plants and, and some estimates suggest that environmental stresses may reduce the crop yield by up to 70%. This in turn adversely affects the food security. As sessile organisms, plants are frequently exposed to various environmental adversities. As such, both plant physiology and plant ecophysiology begin with the study of responses to the environment. Provides essential insights, this book can be used for courses such as Plant Physiology, Environmental Science, Crop Production and Agricultural Botany. Volume 2 provides up-to-date information on the impact of climate change on plants, the general consequences and plant responses to various environmental stresses.

The objective of this book is to make analytical methods available to students of ecology. The text deals with concepts of energy exchange, gas exchange, and chemical kinetics involving the interactions of plants and animals with their environments. The first four chapters are designed to show the applications of biophysical ecology in a preliminary, sim plified manner. Chapters 5-10, treating the topics of radiation, convec tion, conduction, and evaporation, are concerned with the physical environment. The spectral properties of radiation and matter are thoroughly described, as well as the geometrical, instantaneous, daily, and annual amounts of both shortwave and longwave radiation. Later chapters give the more elaborate analytical methods necessary for the study of photosynthesis in plants and energy budgets in animals. The final chapter describes the temperature responses of plants and animals. The discipline of biophysical ecology is rapidly growing, and some important topics and references are not included due to limitations of space, cost, and time. The methodology of some aspects of ecology is illustrated by the subject matter of this book. It is hoped that future students of the subject will carry it far beyond its present status. Ideas for advancing the subject matter of biophysical ecology exceed individual capacities for effort, and even today, many investigators in ecology are studying subjects for which they are inadequately prepared. The potential of modern science, in the minds and hands of skilled investigators, to of the interactions of organisms with their advance our understanding environment is enormous.

Cells and difusion. Cell structure. Diffusion. Membrane structure. Membrane permeability. Cell walls. Problems. Water. Physical properties. Chemical potential. Central vacuole and chloroplasts. Water potential and plant cells. Chemical potential of ions. Fluxes and diffusion potentials. Active transport. Principles of irreversible thermodynamics. Solute movement across membranes. Light. Wavelength and energy. Absorption of light by molecules. De-excitation. Absorption spectra and action spectra. Photochemistry of photosynthesis. Chlorophyll -- Chemistry and spectra. Other photosynthetic pigments. Electron flow. Bioenergetics. Gibbs free energy. Biological energy currencies. Chloroplast bioenergetics. Energy flow in the biosphere. Temperature. Energy budget -- radiation. Wind -- heat conduction and convection. Latent heat -- transpiration. Soil. Further examples of energy budgets. Leaves and fluxes. Resistances and conductances -- transpiration. Water vapor fluxes accompanying transpiration. CO2 conductances and resistances. CO2 fluxes accompanying photosyntesis. Water use efficiency. Plants and fluxes. Gas fluxes above the leaf canopy. Gas fluxes within plant communities. Soil. Water movement in the xylem and phloem. The soil-plant-atmosphere continuum.

Cells. Water. Solutes. Light. Photosynthesis. Bioenergetics. Leaves. Plants.

Physicochemical and Environmental Plant Physiology, Fourth Edition, is the updated version of an established and successful reference for plant scientists. The author has taken into consideration extensive reviews performed by colleagues and students who have touted this book as the ultimate reference for research and learning.The original structure and philosophy of the book continue in this new edition, providing a genuine synthesis of modern physicochemical and physiological thinking, while entirely updating the detailed content. This version contains more than 40% new coverage; five brand new equations and four new tables, with updates to 24 equations and six tables; and 30 new figures have been added with more than three-quarters of figures and legends improved. Key concepts in plant physiology are developed with the use of chemistry, physics, and mathematics fundamentals.The book is organized so that a student has easy access to locate any biophysical phenomenon in which he or she is interested. - More than 40% new coverage - Incorporates student-recommended changes from the previous edition Five brand new equations and four new tables, with updates to 24 equations and six tables 30 new figures added with more than three-quarters of figures and legends improved Organized so that a student has easy access to locate any biophysical phenomenon in which he or she is interested Per-chapter key equation tables Problems with solutions presented in the back of the book Appendices with conversion factors, constants/coefficients, abbreviations and symbols

In this translation of the French edition (L'U. de Saint-'etienne, 1999), the author treats the interrelated factors that inform plants' adaptations to their environments. Applying ecophysiological principles to identify mechanisms of dysfunction in ecosystems, he presents data-based cases for: less stressful growing methods (e.g., using cultivars

"Physiology," which is the study of the function of cells, organs, and organisms, derives from the Latin physiologia, which in turn comes from the Greek physi- or physio-, a prefix meaning natural, and logos, meaning reason or thought. Thus physiology suggests natural science and is now a branch of biology dealing with processes and activities that are characteristic of living things. "Physicochemical" relates to physical and chemical properties, and "Environmental" refers to topics such as solar irradiation and wind. "Plant" indicates the main focus of this book, but the approach, equations developed, and appendices apply equalIy welI to animaIs and other organisms. We wilI specificalIy consider water relations, solute transport, photosynthesis, transpiration, respiration, and environmental interactions. A physiologist endeavors to understand such topics in physical and chemical terms; accurate models can then be constructed and responses to the internal and the external environment can be predicted. Elementary chemistry, physics, and mathematics are used to develop concepts that are key to under-standing biology -the intent is to provide a rigorous development, not a compendium of facts. References provide further details, although in some cases the enunciated principIes carry the reader to the forefront of current research. Calculations are used to indicate the physiological consequences of the various equations, and problems at the end of chapters provide further such exercises. Solutions to alI of the problems are provided, and the appendixes have a large tist of values for constants and conversion factors at various temperatures.

Plants in tropical regions are coping with enormous challenges of physiological stresses owing to changing environmental and climatic conditions. Rapid growth of human population and rampant exploitation of fossil fuels and other developmental activities are actively contributing to such perturbations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has projected a sustained increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and thereby a rise in global temperature in the coming decades. The resultant changes in precipitation patterns are now evident across the globe due to intensication of hydrological cycle. Moreover, gaseous and particulate pollutants are also an immense challenge for tropical plants. Such vagaries in environmental conditions have signicant impacts on the ecophysiological traits of plants, resulting from altered interactions of tropical plants with each other, as well as other biotic and abiotic components within the ecosystem. Books available in the market that particularly focus on ecophysiological responses of tropical plants to abiotic and biotic environmental factors under climate change are limited. This book intends to fill this knowledge gap and provides a detailed analysis on ecophysiological responses of tropical plants to these environmental challenges, as well as suggesting some approachable measures for plant adaptations to these challenges. The book is equally applicable to undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, teachers and forest managers, and policy makers. Salient features of the book are: 1. A comprehensive discussion on adaptive mechanisms of plants through their ecophysiological responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses. 2. Elaboration on the recent techniques involved in ecophysiological research. 3. A detailed account of evolutionary responses of plants to changing climate. 4. Discussion of recent research results and some pointers to future advancements in ecophysiological research. 5. Presentation of information in a way that is accessible for students, researchers, and teachers practicing in plant physiology and ecology.