Download Free Alien Grasses Of The British Isles Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Alien Grasses Of The British Isles and write the review.

It is now over 50 years since the grasses of the British Isles were last treated to a book of their own, Hubbard's famous account of 1954, though two more editions were published in 1968 and 1984, with fairly limited changes. Enough has happened to the taxonomy of the family to justify a new BSBI Handbook. Hubbard's original account, still available after more than half a century, has been overtaken by events in an ever-developing taxonomic world and will not be revised again. This new Handbook therefore attempts to bridge the gap between the taxonomy of the 1980s and the new molecular phytogenies that are currently being explored, so that what is being offered is something that users will feel comfortable with (by departing no more than absolutely necessary from familiar taxonomy), but which hints at changes that may be afoot in the near future.
With 444 full page line drawings of introduced, naturalised and casually occurring aliens in Britain, this handbook fulfills a long-felt need, amongst amateur and professional botanists alike, for a field and desk companion to aid in the identification of these plants. The excellent drawings are largely from a collection put together by the late David McClintock, originally with a view to publication in a new illustrated British flora. An invaluable resource, which will benefit botanists both at home and abroad.
Most people have memories of playing on well-manicured lawns or running across the flat green surface of a local park, but we often don’t think of grasses as something we consume. Indeed, grasses include four species—wheat, rice, maize, and sugar—that provide sixty percent of human calorie intake, and we become more and more dependent on these as the world’s population increases. In this book, Stephen Harris explains the history of our relationship with these vital plants from the end of the last Ice Age to the present day. Combining biology, sociology, and cultural history, Grasses explores how these staple crops bear the mark of human influence more visibly than any other plant and how we, in turn, are motivated to protect green space such as public parks. Harris describes this symbiotic connection against the background of climate change, contending that humans must find a way to balance their need for grass as food, as living space, and potentially even as fuel. Providing an impressive exploration of the profound impact these plants have on our survival and our pleasure, this well-illustrated book is a must have for gardeners, foodies, and environmentalists.
Since its first publication in 1991, New Flora of the British Isles has become established as the standard work on the identification of the wild vascular plants of the British Isles. The Flora remains unique in many features, including its full coverage of all British wild plants, its user-friendly organisation, and its specially compiled keys and descriptions. This new edition includes the addition of more than 160 species, so that 4,800 taxa are now covered in varying degrees of detail. It also incorporates the new molecular system of classification based on DNA sequences. Furthermore, it includes 1600 species illustrations, rewritten distributions and an overhaul of the designation of degrees of rarity, with the introduction of a third, less rare, category. These revisions should ensure that this third edition remains the essential reference source for all taxonomists, ecologists, conservationists, plant hunters and biogeographers, whether they be researchers, teachers, students or amateurs.
The word aliens' can be used in many ways, to invoke fear, dislike and fascination. For biologists it is used to indicate organisms that have been introduced by people to new territories. In the British Isles alien plants are common, conspicuous, pestiferous, beautiful, edible - and can be both useful and harmful.
Biological invasions by alien (non-native) species are widely recognized as a significant component of human-caused global environmental change and the second most important cause of biodiversity decline. Alien species threaten many European ecosystems and have serious environmental, economic and health impacts. The DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe) project has now brought together all available information on alien species in Europe (terrestrial, aquatic and marine) and from all taxa (fungi, plants, animals). Thus for the first time, an overview and assessment of biological invasions in the Pan-European region is finally possible. The Handbook of Alien Species in Europe summarises the major findings of this groundbreaking research and addresses the invasion trends, pathways, and both economic as well as ecological impact for eight major taxonomic groups. Approximately 11.000 alien species recorded in Europe are listed, and fact sheets for 100 of the most invasive alien species are included, each with a distribution map and colour illustration. The book is complemented by a regularly updated internet database providing free additional information. With its highly interdisciplinary approach, DAISIE and its Handbook will be the basis for future scientific investigations as well as management and control of alien invasive species in Europe.
The impact of invasive species is second only to that of human population growth and associated activities as a cause of the loss of biodiversity throughout the world. In the United States, invasions of nonnative plants, animals, or microbes cause major environmental damage. The second edition of Biological Invasions: Economic and Environmental Cos
Vascular plant hybrids are numerous and constitute an important feature of our vegetation, but all too often they have been neglected by botanists. Some hybrids between native species are rare, sterile and ephemeral, but others reproduce vegetatively or by seed and have spread beyond the areas where their parents coexist. In addition, numerous hybrids have escaped from gardens to become established in the wild. Interspecific hybridisation is particularly significant as it represents a major evolutionary pathway in flowering plants; frequently it alters the characteristics of both native and alien taxa and it generates new species. The hybrid flora of the British Isles has been studied in more detail than that of any other region, and it therefore provides an ideal opportunity to study the occurrence of hybrids in wild vegetation. This book provides detailed accounts of the 909 hybrids reliably recorded in the wild in the British Isles. Of particular interest to BSBI members are the comprehensive identification notes, including a summary of the differences from the parents, enabling naming and recording of hybrids to a degree not attainable previously. The habitats of the hybrids are outlined and detailed accounts of their distributions provided, with notes on the discovery of many hybrids. There are 388 novel maps illustrating the records of the commoner hybrids in relation to those of their parents. Known chromosome numbers are given for each hybrid and its parents, and information is provided on the hybrid's fertility/sterility and its capacity for vegetative reproduction. Experimental and molecular studies of the hybrids in the British Isles and elsewhere in their ranges are summarised. Briefer notes are given on a further 156 hybrids, including some which are erroneously or doubtfully recorded and others which might potentially occur as escapes from cultivation.