Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

After having unfolded the principal potentials of photosynthesis in in Chap. 8 we will now look at its performance at the plant community level. The simple single morphotype of gains diversity by the various life forms it produces (Sect. 2.3) and by its high physiological and biochemical plasticity (Chap. 8). is extraordinarily successful in various tropical habitats as shown by its very large ecological amplitude. As illustrated in Fig 9.1 s are found:

Mycorrhiza is formed by more than 90 % of terrestrial plants between their roots and soil fungi (). It is commonly accepted that mycorrhizal associations are beneficial for both partners in that the fungus depends on plant derived carbohydrates while the plant in return receives nutrients, refined products such as amino acids and also water (; ; ). As plants can manage without fungal partners for example in well-fertilised fields or under artificial culture conditions, mycorrhizas are not a strictly obligate symbiosis. They have, however, a crucial role for development and stability of plant communities and are regarded as “ecologically obligate” (). Two major types of interaction exist, the arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and the ectomycorrhiza (ECM). These differ in morphological features and in the type of fungi. AM are typical for most herbaceous plants, including crop plants, and also for the majority of tropical tree species ().

Does have an endogenous clock? Does need a clock? In the prokaryotic cyanobacterium almost all genes and in the vascular higher plant (L.) Heynh. very many genes are oscillating in their transcription with an endogenous circadian period close to 24 h (from the Latin words = approximately, = day), i.e. they are clock controlled (; ). Circadian rhythmicity is a basic property of living organisms. Thus, we must assume that also has circadian rhythmicity.

The critical question has been asked if it makes sense to devote a book-monograph to a single genus of neotropical trees. The diversity of tropical tree species is very large indeed. Why just select one, and why just select ? One strong motivation was given by the fact that s are the only trees performing crassulacean acid metabolism (Chap. 1). This in itself would not justify singling out for its own book. However, it turned out that this fact prompted a number of plant scientists for the first time in almost 25 years to study all possible aspects of s biology in presumably quite a unique way, not only covering a very large number of aspects but also integrating them in a remarkable synthesis. It happened that in the research teams, phytogeographers, phytosociologists and ecologists became familiar with physiological approaches and physiologists took an immediate interest in community structures, aiming to advance from autecology to physiological synecology. The field-laboratory-field-laboratory-field-etc. ping pong worked effectively in all teams involved in making observations and in increasing curiosity in the field, to develop interpretations and hypotheses and to test them in laboratories and phyto-chambers, to come back to the field and check the validity of plant comportment under controlled conditions for performance in the natural environments and to increase the precision of observations.