Ecohydrology
Darwinian Expression of Vegetation Form and Function

A research-level investigation of the relationship between forests and their host soils and climate.

Peter S. Eagleson (Author)

9780521619912, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 February 2005

484 pages, 204 b/w illus. 37 tables
24.6 x 18.9 x 2.5 cm, 0.849 kg

'This new book is undoubtedly a pioneering work, providing the readership with a theoretical background in water-soil-vegetation-atmosphere relationships, thus referring to a very important border region between several sciences. … The book is undoubtedly of interest to an international audience …'. Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Hydrological Sciences Journal

This volume is devoted to the derivation and application of simplified bioclimatic boundary conditions at vegetated land surfaces using natural selection of vegetation characteristics driven by productivity maximization. It investigates the internal control of forest growth by the vertical fluxes of light, CO2, water vapor, and heat within the canopy, as well as the external control offered by the balances of thermal energy and water. Through these means it seeks to determine how the physical characteristics and productivity of forest communities are related to the climates and soils in which they are found. Ecohydrology bridges the fields of hydrology and ecology and proposes new unifying principles derived from the concept of natural selection. It also has potential application in determining the response of vegetation to slow variations in climate and will provide fascinating reading for graduate-level students and research scientists working in ecohydrology, hydroclimatology, forest ecology, and surface water hydrology.

Foreword Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of notation
List of units
List of common and scientific names
1. Introduction and overview
Part I. Biophysics: 2. Canopy structure
3. Radiant fluxes
4. Turbulent fluxes
5. Thermal energy balance
6. Water balance
Part II. Darwinian Ecology: 7. Optimal canopy conductance
8. Optimal bioclimate
9. Natural habitats and climax communities
10. Net primary productivity and ecotones
11. Summary, speculations and opportunities
Appendices
Glossary
References
Indexes.

Subject Areas: Applied ecology [RNC], Forests, rainforests [RGBL], Limnology [freshwater RBKF], Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF]