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A comprehensive review of these two interesting and economically important desert succulents.
"There is nothing in the world like this book. It should be in every library and on the bookshelves of all those interested in cacti. The book will be an important resource for plant physiology, agronomy, and horticulture classes at both the undergraduate and graduate level."—Bruce Smith, Brigham Young University "Cacti: Biology and Uses is a landmark publication of one of the world's most unique group of plants. Park Nobel, a leading authority on succulent plants, has assembled a collection of contributions that spans a wide range of issues extending from basic systematics, anatomy, physiology and ecology to considerations of conservation and human uses of this diverse group of plants. This nicely-produced and well-illustrated volume provides a resource that will be of great use to a wide range of scientists, practitioners, and enthusiasts of this plant group."—Harold Mooney, Paul S. Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University
Agaves and cacti thrive under the higher temperatures, variable rainfall, and increased CO2 characteristic of global climate change. Moreover, their remarkable biomass productivity promises multitudinous new uses in addition to current uses ranging from tequila to delicious fruits to fodder consumed by animals worldwide. The book also discusses the water conserving ability of agaves and cacti based on nocturnal opening of stomata and hence nocturnal uptake of carbon dioxide, a photosynthetic pathway referred to as Crassulacean Acid Metabolism. About the Topics Although widely differing taxonomically, agaves and cacti are remarkably similar physiologically. Both conserve water and produce well in arid and semi-arid regions. Both can cope with climate change, including increasing atmospheric CO2 levels, increasing temperatures, and changing rainfall patterns. Indeed, they are ideal plants for the future the best is yet to come! About the Book DESERT WISDOM/AGAVES and CACTI: CO2, Water, Climate Change delivers crucial scientific information on Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (Chapter 2), plant tolerances (Chapter 3), and crop improvements using an Environmental Productivity Index (Chapters 5 and 6). A reader can also focus on the uses of agaves and cacti (Chapter 1), climate change implications (Chapter 4), and bright ideas for coping with future climates (Chapter 7). Cross-referencing, a Glossary, and References for further reading enhance its utility for everyone. About the Author The world's leading authority on the environmental biology of agaves and cacti, Park S. Nobel has published more than 300 scientific articles and four other books on these plants: The Cactus Primer (with A.C. Gibson), Harvard University Press, 1986; Environmental Biology of Agaves and Cacti, Cambridge University Press, 1988; Remarkable Agaves and Cacti, Oxford University Press, 1994; and Cacti: Biology and Uses (as editor), University of California Press, 2002..
For at least 9000 years, agaves and cacti have been cultivated and consumed by people the world over. Whether they have been used to make beverages, eaten as fruits, raised for their leaf fibers, or fed to cattle, these succulent plants have proven invaluable to the economies of many cultures. This entertaining and informative book details the unique characteristics and uses of the many species of agaves and cacti.
New in paperback Spring 2004, this is an indispensable guide to agaves. The uses of agaves are as many as the arts of man have found it convenient to devise. At least two races of man have invaded Agaveland during the last ten to fifteen thousand years, where, with the help of agaves, they contrived several successive civilizations. The region of greatest use development is Mesoamerica. Here the great genetic diversity in a genus rich in use potential came into the hands of several peoples who developed the main agricultural center of the Americas. Perhaps, as the Aztec legends suggest, it was the animals that first showed man the edibility of agave. Evolution in use ranges all the way from the coincidental and spurious, through tool and food-drink subsistence with mystical overlay, to the practical specialties of modem industry and art. The historic period of agave will be outlined here as briefly as that complicated development will allow.
"There is nothing in the world like this book. It should be in every library and on the bookshelves of all those interested in cacti. The book will be an important resource for plant physiology, agronomy, and horticulture classes at both the undergraduate and graduate level."—Bruce Smith, Brigham Young University "Cacti: Biology and Uses is a landmark publication of one of the world's most unique group of plants. Park Nobel, a leading authority on succulent plants, has assembled a collection of contributions that spans a wide range of issues extending from basic systematics, anatomy, physiology and ecology to considerations of conservation and human uses of this diverse group of plants. This nicely-produced and well-illustrated volume provides a resource that will be of great use to a wide range of scientists, practitioners, and enthusiasts of this plant group."—Harold Mooney, Paul S. Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University
"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.
Cactus plants are precious natural resources that provide nutritious food for people and livestock, especially in dryland areas. Originally published in 1995, this extensively revised edition provides fresh insights into the cactus plant’s genetic resources, physiological traits, soil preferences and vulnerability to pests. It provides invaluable guidance on managing the resource to support food security and offers tips on how to exploit the plant’s culinary qualities.
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.