Plant Biology

PLANT BIOLOGY, Second Edition provides a complete introduction to the science of plants, combining the most current, real-world examples with information on plant biodiversity and ecology, including topics like biotechnology, economic botany, and plant/human interactions. PLANT BIOLOGY begins with elements of botany that are most familiar to students: the structure, function, reproduction, physiology, and genetics of flowering plants. The evolutionary survey is then presented, with detail on the Prokaryotes, Protists, Fungi, Bryophytes, early Tracheophytes, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms. The overall sequence of subjects builds from metabolism and plant function to reproduction, then from simpler to more advanced organisms, concluding with two ecological chapters. Each chapter has been written in a modular fashion, however, to allow them to be taught in any order. In this new edition, the biodiversity chapters provide the best-supported, most current phylogenetic view of the organisms. Cladistics are introduced along with basic information, including gene sequences, followed by modern studies using cladistics and sequence information to identify natural plant groupings. Through this presentation, students can appreciate different types of evidence that describe the past events and directions of evolution. Ecology is another exciting area of study for the introductory student. Can photosynthesis by plants ease problems associated with the burning of fossil fuels? Can we stem biodiversity loss through better ecosystem management? Questions like these are addressed, making the text topical, readable, and a useful guide, all the while maintaining the length and language appropriate for beginning biology students.

Thomas L. Rost is a professor of plant biology at the University of California, Davis and is currently the Executive Associate Dean there in the Division of Biological Sciences. He received his B.S. in biology from St. John's University, his M.A. in biology from Mankato State University, and his Ph.D. in botany from Iowa State University. He has taught developmental plant anatomy for almost 30 years. His primary research interests include the structure and development of roots in vascular plants and structural aspects of Pierce's disease in grape vines.

Michael Barbour is a plant ecologist in the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of California, Davis. His research blends ecophysiology, population biology, and vegetation science. His current research projects include a state-wide survey of vernal pool vegetation in California for conservation purposes, a search for vegetation and soil traits that define old-growth" status for montane mixed conifer forest and a continuum of values for those traits that correlate with successional distance from old-growth status, and a reconstruction of pre-contact old-growth Californian mixed conifer forest. These projects have been supported by the USDA Forest Service, the National Science Foundation, the Packard Foundation, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the California Department of Transportation."

Ralph Stocking received his degrees in plant nutrition and plant physiology from University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis. His research background concerns water relations of plants, photosynthesis, and chloroplast structure and development, on which subjects he has published over 80 scientific papers. He has also been a coauthor of nine editions of the UC Davis series of botany/plant biology books.

Terence Murphy is a professor of plant biology at the University of California, Davis. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in cell biology, and has taught courses in introductory biology, plant physiology, and plant molecular biology. His research areas include the effects of stress on plant cells, particularly on DNA, membrane transport, and oxygen metabolism. Terence Murphy has over 30 years of experience teaching introductory biology courses.