Population Biology of Grasses

by Edited by G. P. Cheplick , Foreword by A. D. Bradshaw

• ISBN13: 9780521572057
• ISBN10: 0521572053
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-03-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Grasses occupy a greater area of the worlds land surface than any other plant family, occurring in almost every terrestrial environment and providing a vital source of food for humans and animals. This volume presents the most recent information on their population biology, bringing together contributions from researchers studying both applied and fundamental aspects of this important group of plants. Demographic, physiological, ecological and molecular approaches to understanding grass populations are considered in relation to reproduction and to aspects of life history patterns such as dispersal, germination, seedling establishment, population dynamics and reproduction. Other areas covered include the role of genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in shaping life history traits, the impact of biotic factors, and the ecology of specific species in major grass-dominated ecosystems in Africa, Australia and Japan.

Table of Contents

Contributors	ix	(2)
Preface	xi
Darwin revisited: approaches to the ecological study of grasses	1	(10)
A.D. Bradshaw
Part one: Population variation and life history patterns	11	(198)
1 Allozyme diversity in the grasses	11	(19)
M.J.W. Godt
J.L. Hamrick
2 Ecology of seed dormancy and germination in grasses	30	(54)
C.C. Baskin
J.M. Baskin
3 Seed dispersal and seedling establishment in grass populations	84	(22)
G.P. Cheplick
4 Clonal biology of caespitose grasses	106	(30)
D.D. Briske
J.D. Derner
5 Ecological aspects of sex expression in grasses	136	(19)
J.A. Quinn
6 Interspecific variation in plasticity of grasses in response to nitrogen supply	155	(28)
E. Garnier
7 Population biology of intraspecific polyploidy in grasses	183	(26)
K.H. Keeler
Part two: Ecological interactions	209	(104)
8 Plant-plant interactions in grasses and grasslands	209	(22)
W.K. Lauenroth
M.O. Aguilera
9 Competition between grasses and woody plants	231	(24)
S.D. Wilson
10 Fungal endophyte infection and the population dynamics of grasses	255	(31)
K. Clay
11 Arbuscular mycorrhizas and the population biology of grasses	286	(27)
K.K. Newsham
A.R. Watkinson
Part three: Population biology of specific groups	313	(77)
12 Population dynamics in the regeneration process of monocarpic dwarf bamboos, Sasa species	313	(20)
A. Makita
13 Population dynamics of perennial grasses in African savanna and grassland	333	(33)
T.G. O'Connor
T.M. Everson
14 A life cycle approach to the population ecology of two tropical grasses in Queensland, Australia	366	(24)
D.M. Orr
Index	390