Book ID: 57219
Rundel, P.W., A.P. Smith and F.C. Meinzer (eds.)
Tropical Alpine Environments. Plant form and function, 1994. (Digital Reprint 2005). illus. XIV, 376 p. gr8vo. Hardcover.
Plants growing in tropical alpine environments (at altitudes above theclosed canopy forest and below the limit of plant life) have evolveddistinct forms to cope with a hostile environment characteristed bycold, drought and fire. Unlike temperate alpine environments, wherethere are distinct seasons of favourable and unfavourable conditions forgrowth, tropical alpine habitats present summer conditions every day andwinter conditions every night. Using examples from all over the tropics,this account reviews the unique form andfunctional relationships of tropical alpine plants, examining both theirphysiological ecology and population biology. It will appeal to anyoneinterested in tropical vegetation and plant physiological adaptations tohostile environment, as well as to researchers in biogeography andecology.