Physiological Plant Ecology

Mineral Substances.- 3.3.3 Mineral Nutrient Status.- 3.4 The Elimination of Minerals.- 3.5 Nitrogen Metabolism.- 3.5.1 Nitrogen Uptake by the Plant.- 3.5.2 Nitrogen Assimilation.- 3.5.3 Nitrogen Partitioning in the Plant.- 3.5.4 Nitrogen Fixation by Microorganisms.- 3.6 Habitat-Related Aspects of Mineral Metabolism.- 3.6.1 Plants Growing on Acidic and Basic Substrates.- 3.6.2 Calcicole and Calcifuge Plants.- 3.6.3 Plants Growing in Oligotrophic Habitats.- 3.7 Mineral Cycling in Plant Communities.- 3.7.1 The Mineral Balance of a Plant Community.- 3.7.2 The Cycling of Minerals.- 4 Water Relations.- 4.1 Poikilohydric and Homoiohydric Plants.- 4.2 Water Relations of the Plant Cell.- 4.2.1 The Water in the Cell.- 4.2.2 The Water Potential of Plant Cells.- 4.2.3 The Dynamic Equilibrium of Cellular Water.- 4.3 Water Relations of the Whole Plant.- 4.3.1 Water Uptake.- 4.3.2 The Plant in the Water-Potential Gradient Between Soil and Atmosphere (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum)..- 4.3.3 Water Loss from Plants.- 4.3.4 The Water Balance of a Plant.- 4.3.5 Water Relations in Different Plant Types.- 4.4 Water Economy in Plant Communities.- 4.4.1 The Water Balance of Stands of Plants.- 5 Environmental Influences on Growth and Development.- 5.1 Regulation of Growth and Development.- 5.1.1 The Role of Phytohormones.- 5.1.2 The Effect of External Factors.- 5.2 Stages in the Life of a Plant.- 5.2.1 The Embryonic Phase: Imprinting by the Mother Plant.- 5.2.2 Germination and Establishment: to Be or not to Be.- 5.2.3 The Vegetative Phase: Period of Greatest Growth.- 5.2.4 The Reproductive Phase: Flowering and Fruiting.- 5.2.5 The Phase of Senescence: Orderly Withdrawal.- 5.3 The Seasonality of Growth and Development.- 5.3.1 Different Patterns of Life History.- 5.3.2 Synchronization of Growth and Climatic Rhythms.- 5.3.3 Winter Dormancy in Cold Regions.- 5.3.4 Phenology: an Indicator of Weather Characteristics and Changes of Climate.- 6 Plants Under Stress.- 6.1 Stress: Disturbance and Syndrome.- 6.1.1 What is Stress?.- 6.1.2 What Happens During Stress?.- 6.1.3 How to Recognize Stress.- 6.1.4 Stress and Plant Life.- 6.2 Natural Environmental Constraints.- 6.2.1 Radiation Stress.- 6.2.2 Stress Due to Extreme Temperatures.- 6.2.3 Oxygen Deficiency in the Soil.- 6.2.4 Drought.- 6.2.5 Salt Stress.- 6.3 Anthropogenic Stress.- 6.3.1 Man-Made Pollutants and Their Impact on the Phytosphere.- 6.3.2 Pollution Injury.- 6.3.3 The Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on the Ecosystem and at the Global Level.- References in the Text.- References in the Tables and Figures.