Journal ofEcology 0888\76\ 062Ð067

Þ 0888 BritishEcological Society

Book Reviews

P[W[ French "0886#Coastal and Estuarine ManagementPp[ xv¦140[ Routledge\ London[ ISBN 9!304!02648!3[ Price -04[88 "paperback#[

This well presented book has the aim of providingundergraduate students studying geography marineand estuarine science and ecology with an informedaccount of the complex set of issues that surround thetopic of coastal management[ The text is clear\ wellillustrated and referenced with sensible examples[ Agood feature is the summary section at the end ofeach chapter with the {take home message| clearlystated[ French has clear opinions on the correctapproach to the future of coastal management believ!ing\ as do many progressive\ conservation!mindedworkers\ that present practices are in many instancesinappropriate and in need of careful evaluation[

The book begins with a concise introduction to thetypes of coastal habitats:environments and summaryof the nature and magnitude of the man!imposedpressures that a}ect the coastlines of the world[ Thisis followed by a detailed consideration of the dynamicprocesses that shape the world|s coasts\ and a majorchapter on land claim and coastal defence incor!porating both a historical perspective\ a detailed andobjective review of the pros and cons of present prac!tice and a critical consideration of the various optionsavailable for the future[ The next two chapters con!sider the impact of the industrial use of coasts andestuaries and the related demands and problemswhich tourism engenders at the coast[ These chapterspoint out the inevitable negative interaction betweenextensive human use of the coast with the con!servation of a variety of sensitive coastal habitats[

Having demonstrated the need for careful man!agement of coastal environments\ French devotes hislast major chapter to an in!depth consideration ofpossible frameworks for coastal management in thefuture[ The chapter outlines the complexity of the taskfacing planners and governments in attempting tosatisfy a variety of opposing interests\ introduces theconcept of Coastal Zone Management and demon!strates how this can operate and the di}erent prob!lems which need to be overcome in di}erent localities[In considering the future of the coastline the topic ofglobal warming and sea level rise inevitably arisesand the consequences of this for coastal defence andcoastal management are discussed[

Overall\ this is a very useful little book\ well pre!sented and thought!provoking] it should be muchappreciated by the students of the early 10st century[

R[H[ EMSON

D[M[ Richardson "ed[# "0887#Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus

Pp[ xvii¦416[ Cambridge University Press\Cambridge[ ISBN 9!410!44065!4[ Price -84"hardback#[

This publication is the result of a vast compilativee}ort by 39 authors from nine di}erent countries\superbly edited and drawn together by DavidRichardson[ It might seem surprising that a book withover 2999 references could be written about a genusas small as Pinus "containing only 000 species#[However\ as the editor points out\ Pinus is one ofthe most important tree genera in the world and theavailable literature is enormous "over 57 499 pub!lications since 0839\ more than four times the numberfor Eucalyptus#[

The book comprises 11 chapters parcelled into six\unequal!sized sections[ Coverage ranges from phy!logeny and systematics\ early evolution\ historical andrecent biogeography\ the interaction of pines with_re\ soils and man\ the life histories of pines\ geneticdiversity and ecophysiology to mychorrhiza[ Mostchapters are copiously illustrated\ mainly with a seriesof sharp black!and!white photographs Ð all of uni!formly high quality[ These\ combined with an almosttotal absence of typographic error\ make the book apleasure to review and dip into[

As a taxonomist\ I was pleased to read Perry\ Gra!ham + Richardson|s up!to!date\ integrated sys!tematic account wherein molecular data are included[Two major lineages of pines are recognized Ð sub!genus Strobus "�diploxylon or hard pines# and sub!genus Pinus "�haploxylon or soft pines#\ the lattersubdivided partly on the basis of chloroplast DNAdata[ Though written before Farjon + Styles| "0886#authoritative treatment of the very rich Mexican pine~ora was published for Flora Neotropica\ Perry\ Gra!ham + Richardson have obviously had sight of it and\thankfully\ come to much the same conclusions Ð thatthere are 36 species in Mexico[ Also\ it is nice tosee that systematic puzzles remain to be solved^ forexample\ why are the ITS regions of r!DNA about 09times larger in total in Pinus than in the angiospermsand why does Pinus ITS!1 evolve slowly and ITS!0quickly<

Pines occur in a wide range of habitats Ð all are dealtwith in the text Ð from the tropics to the temperatetimberline[ Some broad!scale environmental cor!relates with distribution are explained Ð for example\why tropical pines keep their needles for a shortertime than sub!alpine pines^ others remain obscure Ðfor example\ why should arid zone pines have smallercones than mesic pines< In general it is clear from the

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Book Reviews

Þ 0888 BritishEcological Society\Journal of Ecology\76\ 062Ð067

chapters of Agee + Keeley + Zedler that _re has akey role to play in pine ecology[ However\ the latterauthors show that _re must not be considered by itselfbut that site productivity is also important[

The book makes clear that much work remains tobe done on pines\ even in subject areas where theremight be reasonable expectation that such workwould already have been carried out[ For example\the ecophysiology of only a few pine species is knownin detail^ there is little information on tropical pinesor those in the Mediterranean basin[ The eco!physiological studies that have been undertaken showthat pines have a relatively low Leaf Area Index andare shade!intolerant Ð features shared with tropicalpioneers "e[g[ Cecropia# and temperate EucalyptusÐand have high water use e.ciency[

It is\ therefore\ not surprising that at least 04) ofpine species can be considered invasive\ i[e[ weedy\and that some are commercially planted[ One suchspecies is P[ radiata[ This species is probably the mostremarkable example of the e}ectiveness of man as anagent of dispersal[ Incredibly\ as an exotic cultivatedplantation species\ P[ radiata occupies about 599times the area that it does in its native habitat[ Pinusradiata plantations now cover an astonishing area\ c[3 million ha\ which is approximately equal to the areaof Switzerland[

This book deserves to remain the standard ref!erence work on the genus for many years[ It comp!lements Farjon\ Rosa + Style|s "0886# detailed andexcellent publications on Mexican Pines and shouldbe on all library shelves[

JOHN PARNELL

References

Farjon\ A[\ Perez de la Rosa\ J[A[ + Styles\ B[T[ "0886# AField Guide to the Pines of Mexico and Central America[R[B[G[ Kew\ London[

Farjon\ A[ + Styles\ B[T[ "0886# Pinus "Pinaceae#[ FloraNeotropica Monograph No[ 64[ New York BotanicalGarden[

J[ Fowler\ L[ Cohne + P[ Jarvis "0887#Practical Statistics for Field BiologyPp[ x¦148[ John Wiley\ Chichester[ ISBN 9!360!87185!1[ Price -06[88 "paperback#[

Teachers of time!constrained introductory statisticscourses always have to make choices about what tocover and what to leave out[ In the same way\ writersof introductory texts on statistics also have to makechoices on content[ On both accounts such choicesare motivated by concepts of what is most important\personal experience and subject interest\ and it is theperverseness of things that will ensure that the selec!tion for a particular introductory text will not com!pletely match the needs for the statistics course[

For biologists\ statistics couched in ways that arerelevant to the particular subject are often very impor!tant[ Some of the more perennially recommendedstatistics books for biologists have been written byauthors who understand the mathematical di.cultiesthat many biology undergraduates have and haveused examples that students can empathize with toaid understanding[ The problem with them is thatthey are getting a bit long in the tooth or are out ofprint[

So\ against this experience of dissatisfaction in pastintroductory texts on statistics\ this book is somethingof a revelation[ It comes very close to what I think arethe main introductory statistics that ecology studentsneed and the examples are all readily related to ques!tions asked in the _eld[ All of the basics are here\including chapters on sampling\ data collection\ pres!entation\ variability\ probability and dispersion\ con!_dence limits\ correlation\ regression\ ANOVA andmultivariate analysis[ This last section\ in particular\is a very digestible introduction to Principal Com!ponents Analysis\ Discriminant Analysis\ Measure!ment of "Dis#Similarity and clustering techniques[

Although the reviewer is not familiar with the _rstedition of this book\ it is clear from the preface thatthis second edition is a considerably evolved organ!ism[ The style is very readable with an emphasis onthe practical use\ rather than the mathematical deri!vation\ of the statistics[ It is a lucid\ user!friendly\practical statistics text of particular value for ecol!ogists\ and is top of my list of recommendations foran introductory statistics book for students[

B[D[ TRUNER

C[C[ Baskin + J[M[ Baskin "0887#Seeds] Ecology\ Biogeography\ and Evolution ofDormancy and GerminationPp[ xiv¦555[ Academic Press\ San Diego[ ISBN 9!01!979159!9[ Price not supplied "hardback#[

Anyone with an interest in seeds will not need remind!ing of the Baskins^ others need to know they havespent the last 29 years working their way through thedormancy!breaking and germination requirements ofmuch of the herbaceous ~ora of the eastern UnitedStates\ with occasional forays into shrubs and neigh!bouring regions[ This book summarizes their e}orts\and those of a staggering number of others[ Writingit has taken nearly 09 years[ In a preface they makethe slightly unusual claim that they cite only thosepapers they have actually read[ Clearly\ they feel thatthis cannot be said of all citations by other authors\and perhaps they are right[

Following a short introductory chapter\ Chapter 1is entitled {ecologically meaningful germination stud!ies|[ For those embarking on a career in seed biology"and perhaps for some who have already done so#\

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Book Reviews

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this chapter alone is worth the purchase price[ It isfull of good advice[ For example\ resist the temptationto use arti_cial dormancy!breaking treatments\ suchas H1SO3[ These may give you the satisfaction ofgerminating your seeds\ but they will tell you littleabout what does this job in the _eld[ The Baskins arealso suspicious of green {safe lights|\ which they regardas distinctly unsafe\ and also of fancy statistics[ In0855 they asked the late Lea Barton how many seedsthey should use in germination experiments[ She toldthem that the statisticians at the Boyce ThompsonInstitute recommended three replicates of 49 seeds each\and the Baskins have followed this advice ever since[How long should a germination test last< Two weeks^ ifgermination takes longer than this to start\ there isalways a suspicion that the germination conditions arein~uencing dormancy rather than germination per se[Finally\ fungi are good at quality control^ if your seedsare always attacked by fungi\ you|re probably doingsomething wrong\ or your seeds are dead[

Subsequent chapters cover the types of seed dor!mancy\ the ecology of seeds with di}erent dormancytypes\ persistent seed banks and within!species vari!ation in dormancy and germination\ while three mass!ive chapters survey the germination ecology of allthe world|s major biomes and of plants with unusualhabitats or life cycles\ e[g[ parasites\ halophytes andorchids[ These chapters contain a wealth of fas!cinating detail[ The Baskins take issue with the long!established term {induced dormancy|\ since they knowof no species with completely non!dormant seeds atmaturity that has subsequently been induced into dor!mancy[ No prize is o}ered for the _rst person todiscover such a species\ but research students shouldobviously be on the alert[ The Baskins are rightlycritical of the way much of the information on per!sistent seed banks has been collected and "worse still#reported[ In many "most<# studies\ it is impossible totell if the seeds recovered are part of a transient orpersistent seed bank[ They also address the relation!ship between dormancy and longevity of seeds in thesoil\ and rightly conclude that there is none[ Seedsthat persist for years or decades in the soil may havephysical "hard!seeded# dormancy\ they may cycle con!tinually between the dormant and non!dormantstates\ or they may be permanently non!dormant[

The typical Baskin approach is pragmatic^ theyaccept the widely!held belief that shade species intropical forest generally have larger seeds that gapspecies\ and choose to ignore the fact that seed size isstrongly linked to phylogeny[ Their epic surveysreveal many surprises and unexplored avenues[ Whydo temperate weed and non!weed ~oras have essen!tially the same spectra of dormancy!breaking require!ments< We know a lot about the germination of para!sites that happen to be pests\ and almost nothingabout the rest[ We know far too little about howthe dormancy and germination of aquatic plants isa}ected by low O1 conditions[

A _nal chapter attempts to pull together some con!clusions[ The core of this chapter concerns the evo!lution of dormancy in the seed plants[ It is clearly agreat pity that we know so little about fossil seeds[Clearly\ however\ dormancy types are relativelyancient characteristics of families and orders[ Dor!mancy is seen as a way of arranging for germinationat a suitable time for establishment and survival[ Themost ancient form of dormancy\ an underdevelopedembryo\ is a relatively blunt instrument for achievingthis[ The evolution of the more advanced physio!logical dormancy has permitted much _ner tuningand moreover it can easily be turned on and o}[

{Monumental| is an overworked word\ but it is onethat applies to this book[ The Baskins begin Chapter0 with Theophrastus\ the father of seed germinationecology\ and conclude that he would be pleased withthe progress of the subject[ Much of his pleasurewould be owing to the Baskins[

KEN THOMPSON

J[M[ Moreno "ed[# "0887#Large Forest FiresPp[ viii¦128[ Backhuys\ Leiden[ ISBN 89!62237!79!2[ Price ,58[49 "paperback#[

Contributors to this volume gathered at a summerschool in Ronda "south Spain#[ There they foundthemselves helping to _ght a large _re to the south ofthe city\ which must have given a sharp point to theirdiscussions[ They gathered because several large _reshad burned through parts of Spain\ California andsouth!east Australia in 0882Ð83\ and they wished toexchange experiences on the causes and consequences[

The result is a compilation of 09 papers\ of whichnine deal with Mediterranean ecosystems in Spain\Portugal\ Australia\ California and South Africa\ andone concerns _res in the boreal forests of Canada[Millan et al[ and Viegas contribute on the conditionsin which large _res start[ Gill and Moore describe theSydney _res of January 0883[ Two papers describeecosystem recovery after _res in southern California"Keeley# and Eastern Spain "Vallejo and Alloza#[Then four papers cover the large!scale aspects ofbiodiversity "Davis#\ land!use policy "Minnich#\ Span!ish _res "Moreno et al[# and what the authors call{global change|\ i[e[ climate change "Rambal andHo}#[ Against this background\ the review of _res inthe Canadian boreal by Weber and Stocks is some!what anomalous\ but provides an interesting entry tothe subject[

The editor|s paper interested me the most\ and notjust because he allowed himself several coloured dis!tribution maps[ Fires in Spain are mostly started bypeople\ and have increased substantially since the0859s[ Evidently\ this increase has taken place in allthe Mediterranean countries within the Europe

065

Book Reviews

Þ 0888 BritishEcological Society\Journal of Ecology\76\ 062Ð067

Union\ but not in non!EU countries[ Thus\ for exam!ple\ the _re rotation is down to 31 years in Portugal\but remains at 499 years in Algeria and 0569 years inTurkey[ The cause is sadly familiar^ the CommonAgricultural Policy has encouraged rural depopu!lation\ reduced grazing and increased a}orestation\but does not appear to subsidize retention of growingforests[

Attitudes to _res were understandably ambivalent[Those that burned property\ harvestable timber andyoung woodlands incapable of regeneration wereobviously seen as destructive\ but _res could be ben!e_cial if they could be kept under control[ Pre!emptivecontrolled burning in patches appeared to be the solu!tion in many circumstances[

The generalized title disguises a narrow focus onmodern _res in Mediterranean ecosystems[ All thecontributions are well!written\ informative and fullyreferenced^ collectively they seem to be both usefuland authoritative[

G[F[ PETERKEN

R[S[ Ambasht "ed[# "0887#Modern Trends in Ecology and EnvironmentPp[ vii¦251[ Backhuys\ Leiden[ ISBN 89!62237!75!1[ Price ,014 "hardback#[

This collection is a veritable pot!pourri of essays[There are 07 contributions plus an introduction\ andthe topics comprise a curious\ though justi_able\ mix!ture of ecological techniques\ environmental issues\environmental management and pollution problemswith a _nal paper on legislative measures for environ!mental health[ The editor of this work took it uponhimself:herself to assemble the authors and topicswith the objective of {[ [ [describing modern ðecologicaland environmentalŁ topics from fundamentals toadvanced level[ [ [|[ This is indeed a noble objectivebut in today|s world of specialism such an objective\even if successful\ commands only a limited audience[Indeed\ it is di.cult to identify the market to whichthis book is directed^ certainly some chapters are rel!evant to advanced undergraduates whilst others aremore applicable to MSc:PhD students[

The diversity of topics also militates against theidenti_cation of an obvious market[ Despite the uni!fying theme of environment and ecology\ the twochapters on urban ecology\ one on urban ecosystemsand the other on pest rodents "notably rats#\ seem outof place[ This\ however\ may be illusory as so fewbooks on ecology or environmental science includesections on the urban environment and so Ambasht|svolume only appears unusual[ Perhaps urban ecologyshould be included in environmental texts as a matterof course[ Most of the chapters deal with vegetationcommunities and include methods and techniques ofrecording and analysis\ including remote sensing\ and

various aspects of tropical forests\ tropical pastures\deserts and Paci_c islands[ The glaring omission istemperate environments in the Northern Hemisphere\though of course these have been covered extensivelyelsewhere[ Aquatic environments are considered inthree chapters^ wetland resources\ the remote sensingof wetlands and marine ecosystems are the foci ofattention[ Whilst presenting solid facts these chaptersare informative\ but none provide any maps despitesubstantial reference to a wide range of locations andstudy sites[

The discussions on plant diversity in tropicalforests\ ecotoxicology and the watershed as a unit ofmanagement are interesting[ Although unrelated\ allare relevant to environmental and ecological studies^all these chapters are thronged with salient facts and_gures and all present lively reviews[ Apparentincongruence is also implied by the _nal chapterwhich is concerned with the legal regulation ofenvironmental health[ The juxtaposition of a chapteron environmental law\ with 06 other chapters thatprovide a predominantly scienti_c outlook for thisbook\ seems out of place[ However\ the legal "andsocio!economic# rami_cations of environmentalchange and environmental degradation are just asimportant as the change and:or degradation[ More!over\ control is exerted through legal channels thatre~ect political policies[ Such juxtaposition ofenvironmental science and social science is to beencouraged^ it heralds a new approach in the broadcontext of environmental studies:sciences[

This collection does not have a conclusion[ This isa missed opportunity to advance new ideas and novelcombinations[ More generally\ this text has an inter!national group of authors though\ surprisingly\ inview of the Ambasht base in India\ there are no otherauthors from the Developing World[ This interestingcollection should _nd a place in libraries but isunlikely to appeal to individuals[

A[M[ MANNION

B[ Moss "0887#Ecology of Fresh Waters] Man and Medium\ Pastto FuturePp[ xvi¦446[ Blackwell Science\ Oxford[ ISBN 9!521!9201!8[ Price -13[84 "paperback#[

Many will be familiar with the earlier editions of 0879and 0877 and note how the size and full title of thisbook have progressively increased[ Photographs havebeen introduced on a wider scale\ and there has beensubstantial rewriting in this edition\ which retains thesame readable style and organization of content as inthe second[ The fundamentals of freshwater scienceare updated and coverage of their application to prac!tical problems has been considerably strengthened[

The complex Pantanal wetlands of the Matto

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Book Reviews

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Grosso in Brazil replace the Pongolo ~oodplain ofAfrica to illustrate general features\ before conditionsfor life in freshwaters are described in detail[ Thereare shifts in emphasis in the treatment of the chemicalmilieu\ and the impact of human settlement\ agri!culture\ industry and atmospheric pollution receivegreater attention than before[ In the _rst of two chap!ters on rivers\ adaptations and energy ~ow in turbu!lent\ erosive waters are fully dealt with but for furthercoverage of some continuing research themes instream ecology Ð community structuring\ persistence\disturbance and recovery Ð we are referred elsewhere[Here\ as in the following account of lowland riversand wetlands\ prominence is given to applied aspects\ranging from human disease and _sheries to ~ood!plain restoration\ pollution and biomonitoring[ Res!ervations about current toxicity testing practice re!emerge and the previous listing of {approved| herbi!cides has been deleted[

The excellent coverage of lakes\ their structure\plankton and _sh communities\ _sheries and evo!lution\ is maintained in four chapters which mar!ginally occupy the greater share of this book[ Com!plications introduced by knowledge of microbialloops\ phagotrophs and omnivores amongst others\into the traditional concept of a grazing food chainand energy pathway in lakes are discussed[ Othertopics which are revisited and expanded include eutro!phication\ competition between submerged plants andphytoplankton\ biomanipulations of the trophiccascade\ and the restoration of shallow lakes to plantdominance "with a summary of the characteristics ofemergent plants of relevance in choosing species forrestoration projects#[ Less anticipated is a relativelyshort but pithy examination of issues associated withstill!water angling in the _sheries section[ The latterretains Garrod|s {classic| analysis of a commercialtilapia _shery from the _rst edition and furthermaterial is used from the developing case!history ofthe great Lake Victoria\ namely the impacts of itsapparent enrichment and the introduction of Nileperch "but not\ surprisingly\ of the massive invasionof the lake by water hyacinth#[

The separate\ challenging and philosophical end!piece justi_es a lengthened subtitle to the third edition[Confronted by the vulnerability of freshwaters tohuman population growth\ resource use and tech!nological development\ the author questions thevalues of responses relying on fashionable research ingenetics\ molecular biology and ecotoxicology[ Fewecologists would disagree with him that ecologicalproblems are best approached at as near to wholesystem studies as can be obtained[ The contrastingprogress of recent environmental treaties and legis!lation is traced and Professor Moss concludes bydeveloping his fascinating analogy between the alter!native stable state models of shallow lakes Ð clear!water\ plant!dominated and turbid\ phytoplankton!dominated\ and those of human societies Ð traditional

complex sharing systems and Western technologicalsociety[ Without any doubt the new edition will serveto maintain and broaden the appeal of this establishedtext book for university courses in freshwater ecology[

ROLAND BAILEY

Short Reviews

F[P[ Kareiva "ed[# "0887# Explorin` Ecolo`y and itsApplications[ Pp[ 166[ Sinauer Associates\Sunderland\ Mass[ ISBN 9!76782!303!5[Price -06[84 "paperback#[

This collection of readings from the American Scien!tist includes sections on adaptation and organismstrategies "including Robert Cook on clonal plantpopulations#\ dynamics of species interactions"including Judith Myers on forest Lepidoptera#\ com!munity and ecosystem ecology "including Ted Caseand Martin Cody testing theories of island bio!geography#\ and ecosystem management "including arange of papers relating to global change and eco!system response#[ The collection represents an excel!lent and very well illustrated resource for teachers ofecology[

H[ Prince "0886# Wetlands of the American Midwest]A Historical Geo`raphy of Chan`in` Attitudes[Pp[ xiii¦284[ University of Chicago Press\Chicago[ ISBN 9!115!57172!7[ Price -05[64[

The American Midwest is a region rich in wetlands\but it also has a history of intensive agricultural rec!lamation and development[ This account of the areasets social history within its geographical and eco!logical context[ Beginning with a physical descriptionof the range of wetlands and their geographicalsetting\ the use made of these wetlands by nativeAmericans is described\ followed by the reclamationand exploitation activities of subsequent Europeansettlers[ Emphasis is then placed on the markedchange in attitude during the 0849s\ when the wetlandimage altered from one of wasteland to a resource forwildlife conservation[

E[G[ Bolen "0887# Ecolo`y of North America[Pp[ xv¦337[ John Wiley\ Chichester[ISBN 9!360!02045!2[ Price -54 "hardback#[

The full range of North American biomes "tundra\boreal forest\ deciduous forest\ prairie grasslands\deserts\ chaparral\ montane forests and temperaterain forests# are outlined here in a concise\ informativemanner\ ideal as an introduction for undergraduatestudents and others needing an ecological backgroundto the rich variety of ecosystems found in the conti!nent[ The text deals with vegetation\ soils\ associatedanimals "mainly vertebrates#\ and major physical fac!tors controlling the system "e[g[ _re#[ Scienti_c namesand reference citations are avoided in the text "leading

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Book Reviews

Þ 0888 BritishEcological Society\Journal of Ecology\76\ 062Ð067

to readability#\ but extensive reference lists to the pri!mary literature are supplied at the end of each chapter[

J[S[ Rodwell "0887# British Plant Communities]0[ Woodlands and Scrub[ ISBN 9!410!51610!3[ Price-16[84^ 1[ Mires and Heaths[ ISBN 9!410!51619!5[Price -18[84^ 2[ Grasslands and MontaneCommunities[ ISBN 9!410!51608!1[ Price -18[84^3[ Aquatic Communities\ Swamps and Tall!HerbFens[ ISBN 9!410!51607!3[ Price -13[84[Cambridge University Press\ Cambridge[ All fourvolumes now available in paperback[

D[E[ Brown\ F[ Reichenbacher + S[E[ Franson "0887#A[ Classi_cation of North American BioticCommunities[ Pp[ x¦030\ plus separate map[University of Utah Press\ Salt Lake City[ISBN 9!76379!451!6 "map 9!76379!456!7#[Price not supplied "paperback#[

As the authors of this compendium of biotic com!munities of North America point out\ even those biol!ogists who regard the community concept as obsoleteand prefer a continuum approach still need the con!venience and descriptive value of ecological pigeon!holing[ The classi_cation adopted here is essentiallybiotic rather than simply vegetational\ but still leansheavily on plant dominants[ It has a strong elementof physical limitation criteria\ particularly moistureand temperature minima\ as used by the RangelandsGroup of the EPA[ The system includes CentralAmerica and the Caribbean islands[ It comprises ahierarchical classi_cation\ commencing with Biog!eographic Realm "Nearctic:Neotropical#\ thenHydrologic Regime "e[g[ upland\ wetland#\ For!mation!type "e[g[ tundra\ forest\ grassland#\ ClimaticZone "arctic\ cold temperate\ etc[#\ and _nally BioticCommunities "e[g[ Rocky Mountain alpine tundra\Great Basin montane scrub\ etc[#[ The _nal list ofbiotic communities is accompanied by photographicillustrations and a separate colour map with key[

T[R[ Sinclair + F[P[ Gardner "eds# "0887# Principlesof Ecolo`y in Plant Production[ Pp[ x¦078[ CABInternational\ Wallingford[ ISBN 9!74088!119!X[Price -03[84 "paperback#[

The fact that photosynthesis lies at the base of humanpopulation maintenance on earth is both obvious andeasily overlooked[ This brief text makes the pointstrongly and then expands on the theme by examiningthe range and origin of domesticated plants\ the devel!opment of agricultural ecosystems\ and the physicalconstraints on plant production that will ultimatelylimit human populations also[ The collection of multi!authored chapters contains a balanced assemblageof plant physiology\ production ecology\ climatologyand agricultural science[

K[J[ Gaston + J[I[ Spicer "0887# Biodiversity] AnIntroduction[ Pp[ x¦002[ Blackwell Science\Oxford[ ISBN 9!521!93842!6[ Price -8[84"paperback#[

In a very brief text\ Gaston and Spicer seek to answera number of questions concerning biodiversity thatcurrently occupy the minds of many students of ecol!ogy[ What exactly is it< How has it varied in time<Can it be mapped\ so that {hot spots| can be locatedand given special attention< Do we really need biodi!versity< And\ even if we do\ can we do anything toconserve it< The brevity\ the clear focus\ and the highquality of illustrations in this text will make it an idealintroduction to this wide ranging concept that hascome to dominate conservation thinking[

L[ Margulis + K[V[ Schwartz "0887# Five Kin`doms]An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth\2rd edn[ Pp[ xx¦419[ W[H[ Freeman\ New York[ISBN 9!6056!2916!7[ Price ,18[84 "paperback#[

Anyone interested in biodiversity\ evolution\ or evenlife\ should already have an earlier edition of thiswork on their desks[ It is a catalogue of living things\but it is also a perfect introduction to the range andcomplexity of life[ The fact that each major group oforganisms is permitted only a single spread is a crush!ing experience for a vertebrate or a ~owering plant[The arrangement brings into perspective the oftenunperceived imbalance of diversity in favour of smallthings[ The new edition exploits advances in molec!ular systematics to revise taxonomic and evolutionaryaccounts\ and a new lists of Internet sources will alsoprove interesting and useful[

J[ Proctor "ed[# "0886# Scottish Ve`etation] PlantEcolo`y in Scotland[ Pp[ v¦300[ EdinburghUniversity Press "with Botanical Society ofScotland#\ Edinburgh[ ISSN 9263!5596[ Price -19"paperback#[

An issue of the Botanical Journal of Scotland has beendevoted to the plant ecology of that country and isavailable as a separate publication[ It contains a widerange of papers dealing with phytogeography\ veg!etation history\ climatic constraints and ecophy!siology\ vegetation change in response to climateshifts\ the cyptogams of Scotland and the con!servation of various habitats[ Its detailed and com!prehensive coverage makes this volume a worthy suc!cessor to J[H[ Burnett|s "0853# classic book[

Reference

Burnett\ J[H[ "0853# The Ve`etation of Scotland[Oliver + Boyd\ Edinburgh[