{"id":821,"date":"2013-06-17T22:55:29","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T12:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/?p=821"},"modified":"2013-06-17T22:55:29","modified_gmt":"2013-06-17T12:55:29","slug":"vegetation-ecology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/?p=821","title":{"rendered":"Vegetation Ecology"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"maarel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> \"★\"\"★\"\"★\"\"½\"\"☆\"<\/p>\n

Eddy van der Maarel and Janet Franklin. eds. 2013. Vegetation Ecology. 2e. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978 1 4443 3889 8.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, the study of vegetation in ecology is one of the oldest parts of the discipline, as vegetation science is in many allied disciplines e.g. biogeography (although one of the first discrete texts was published only in 1974!). Nominally concerned with plant cover and the relationships with the environment, vegetation science has grown considerably as a discipline in recent years. The fact this text is in its second edition in less than 10 years is testament to that. What separates this text from many others is the bringing together of the two “strands” of ecology – continental and empirical – that have not often been woven together (although this is hardly new – most earth and geographical sciences have the same divisions for much the same reasons!). Aimed at university teachers and a range of graduate disciplines, the text aims to highlight key issues from both theory and practice.<\/p>\n

Usefully, we start where a good text should – a review of the subject’s history. The editors have taken the opportunity here of not only introducing the temporal developments of the subject but linking these explicitly to the contributions that make up the bulk of the book. The advantage of this is that you can link the topic with some idea of how it fits into the greater whole.<\/p>\n

One of the most important aspect of any broader ecological study is to to able to classify the ecosystem or vegetation stand under\u00a0 investigation. The whole field started with a simple need to classify and describe but since that time it has become increasingly sophisticated. Classifications allow baseline studies, they monitor change and they are increasingly the key units of applied studies like conservation. It’s also important in conceptual understanding because once an area has been delimited it’s difficult to shift perspective. Conservation studies alone are replete with cases where analysis has failed to spot significant patterns. This\u00a0 gives one a reason to examine the perspectives of chapters two and three looking, respectively, at phytosociology and the statistical analyses forming from that, and\u00a0 purely statistical patterns such as ordination and correspondence analysis. This idea of a pattern observed and a pattern deduced from data is an intriguing one but not all that is needed in vegetation analysis. Vegetation is dynamic and the patches that form (or that we analyse as having formed) can change through time. From this we get the classic view of\u00a0 plant succession. Of course, not all vegetation dynamics is via the single plant. Some, for example, elm form clones and thus a single plant can “last” for hundreds of years.<\/p>\n

Of course, dynamics covers more general ground. From these discussions, the text moves on to look at more specific processes governing the emergence and survival of plants. The first example is seed ecology where it is clear that the nature and properties of the seed determine the nature of the succession. Apart from importance in understanding changes in vegetation patterns, seed ecology is a vital part of plant conservation and genetics so this theoretical notion has a real practical importance (e.g. in seed banks<\/a>).\u00a0 From this we move to plant-plant interactions – the inter- and intra-specific dynamics of vegetation.\u00a0 Patches might be aided or impeded<\/a> by these interactions each one creating a specific floral composition. Reactions between plants and herbivores and plants and soil organisms are not just examples at different scales but also examples of the complexity of vegetation dynamics. Overall, these 4 chapters provide us with some insight into the complexity of the situation. Although the text is not aimed specifically in this area , it does provide an excellent grounding in the basics of conservation ecology because often it’s the invasive species that we are trying to control and an understanding of the processes involved is vital.<\/p>\n

From this point we move into new studies focussing on the actual ecosystem and the dynamics at that level. Chapter 10 provides a general account of the basics of ecosystem design and biogeochemical and energy\u00a0 flows that maintain it. To what extent does this create a limiting pattern? It’s a difficult question which a further chapter explores. The topic is diversity and the old argument regarding stability but of course the focus now moves from purely questions of length of time of ecosystem towards the more contentious\u00a0 world of conservation ecology and the problems of maintaining diversity in a changing physical environment.<\/p>\n

From here, the remaining chapters create a narrative of plant design and survival. Not all changes are due to dynamics alone. The notion of functional trait assumes that there are ecophysiological characteristics that better suit a plant in one set of circumstances over another. That this might be in a “foreign” environment sets the tone for a discussion on plant invasions. Plant invasions mechanics (chapter 13) gives way to managing those invasions (as well as other issues of selected ecosystem survival – chapter14). This, in turn, changes the patterns of ecosystems which we can map at a range of scales which we will need to address future global changes.<\/p>\n

This is a fascinating text on a number of levels. Aimed at graduates and researchers, this text will provide a very good introduction to the range of topics in vegetation ecology but also to the current issues and limitations. Many of the chapters read likes works in progress where what is known is also discussed alongside where the topic might usefully go in the future. At this level, many of the chapters need a considerable grounding in basic ecological ideas. However, like so many of the more advanced texts, there is much to gain for the less experienced ecologist or one aiming for advanced studies in schools. Many of the chapters provide excellent overviews of their topics, examples are global and the range of ideas is stimulating. Of particular note is the open tension between “rival” paradigms of ecological theory – continental and empirical – which makes for great reading for those who have seen this debate elsewhere (or would like to see how it might be resolved or at least addressed).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rating: Eddy van der Maarel and Janet Franklin. eds. 2013. Vegetation Ecology. 2e. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978 1 4443 3889 8. Of course, the study of vegetation in ecology is one of the oldest parts of the discipline, as vegetation science is in many allied disciplines e.g. biogeography (although one of the first discrete texts was published only in 1974!). Nominally concerned with plant cover and the relationships with the environment, vegetation science has grown considerably as a discipline in recent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[226,31,115,45,48,225,205],"class_list":["post-821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-classification","tag-conservation","tag-dynamics","tag-ecology","tag-mapping","tag-plant-communities","tag-vegetation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=821"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":829,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821\/revisions\/829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ecogeog.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}