The Plant - Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems

Agriculture Reference

In-Depth Information

within which interactions with other species occur. This

is the case in both agroecosystems and natural ecosys-

tems. How each plant in an agroecosystem performs will

depend on how each factor of the environment impacts

it. We will explore these factors in detail in the following

chapters.

Epstein, E. and A.J. Bloom. 2004. Mineral Nutrition of

Plants: Principles and Perspectives . 2nd ed. Sunder-

land, MA: Sinauer Associates. A detailed work on the

important field of plant nutrition. The authors trace

the movement of nutrients from soil to roots and

throughout the plant, providing details on physiology

and metabolism.

Hall, A.E. 2001. Crop Responses to Environment. Boca Raton,

FL: CRC Press. Presents the principles, theories, and

experimental observations concerning plant responses to

the environment, with specific reference to crop cultivars

and management.

Lambers, H., F.S. III Chapin, and T.L. Pons. 1998. Plant Physio-

logical Ecology . New York: Springer-Verlag. An in-depth

analysis of the mechanisms underlying plant physiological

ecology, including biochemistry, biophysics, molecular

biology, and whole-plant physiology.

Larcher, W. 2003. Physiological Plant Ecology . 3rd ed. Berlin:

Springer-Verlag. A well-known textbook that focuses on

the science of plant function in interaction with the

environment.

Loomis, R.S. and D.J. Connor. 1992. Crop Ecology: Produc-

tivity and Management in Agricultural Systems.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. A textbook

that emphasizes physiological ecology and how to

adjust the crop environment to meet the needs of the

crop plant.

Taiz, L. and E. Zeiger. 2002. Plant Physiology . 3rd ed. Sunder-

land, MA: Sinauer Associates. A very thorough review

of the field of plant physiology; it balances chemical

and molecular specificity with the broader ecological

applications.

Wilkinson, R.E. (ed.) 2000. Plant-Environment Interaction . 2nd

ed. New York: Marcel Dekker. A comprehensive

presentation of plant responses to changing environ-

ments, with a focus on how stress factors influence plant

survival.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

1.

How might the different forms of photosynthe-

sis that occur in plants have come about? What

specific conditions of the environment would

select for each type and how might we use this

knowledge in agriculture?

2.

What would you consider to be “balanced plant

nutrition” and how would you try to maintain

it in an agroecosystem setting?

3.

Why does a plant partition carbon to different

parts of the plant structure?

4.

How many factors need to be included to be

able to thoroughly understand the full range of

conditions that determine an individual plant's

habitat?

5.

How is plant nutrition affected by the shift from

easily soluble synthetic fertilizers to more com-

plex organic soil amendments, as commonly

applied in organic farming systems?