Plant Functional Types
Their Relevance to Ecosystem Properties and Global Change

This 1997 book describes techniques for defining plant functional types in global detail.

T. M. Smith (Edited by), H. H. Shugart (Edited by), F. I. Woodward (Edited by)

9780521566438, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 May 1997

388 pages
24.7 x 17.3 x 2.1 cm, 0.79 kg

"...the depth and breadth of coverage are impressive....This book is an important addition to a growing library of knowledge related to global change." Thomas R. Crowe, Ecoscience

Attempts to model the effects of global change are inhibited by a lack of information about how individual plant and animal species will respond. One way of reducing the problem is to develop models treating a smaller number of groups or 'functional types' with similar characteristics. This 1977 book describes approaches and methods for defining these functional types in ways which maximize our potential to predict accurately the responses of real vegetation with real species diversity.

List of contributors
Preface
Part I: 1. What are functional types and how should we seek them? H. Gitay and I. R. Noble
2. Plant and ecosystem functional types H. H. Shugart
Part II: 3. Plant functional types: towards a definition by environmental constraints F. I. Woodward and C. K. Kelly
4. Can we use plant functional types to describe and predict responses to environmental change? R. J. Hobbs
5. Functional types in non-equilibrium ecosystems B. H. Walker
6. Categorizing plant species into functional types M. Westoby and M. Leishman
7. Functional types: testing the concept in Northern England J. P. Grime, J. G. Hodgson, R. Hunt, K. Thopson, G. A. F. Hendry, B. D. Campbell, A. Jalili, S. H. Hillier, S. Diaz and M. J. W. Burke
Part III: 8. Plant functional types and ecosystem change in arctic tundras G. R. Shaver, A. E. Giblin, K. J. Nadelhoffer and E. B. Rastetter
9. Functional types for predicting changes in biodiversity: a case study in Cape Fynbos W. J. Bond
10. Defining functional types for models of desertification J. F. Reynolds, R. A. Virginia and W. H. Schlesinger
11. Plant functional types in temperate semi-arid regions O. E. Sala, W. K. Lauenroth and R. A. Golluscio
12. Interactions between demographic and ecosystem processes in a semi-arid and an arid grassland: a challenge for plant functional types W. K. Lauenroth, D. P. Coffin, I. C. Burke and R. A. Virginia
13. Plant functional types in African savannas and grasslands R. J. Scholes, G. Pickett, W. N. Ellery and A. C. Blackmore
Part IV: 14. Using plant functional types in a global vegetation model W. Cramer
15. The use of plant functional type classifications to model the global land cover and simulate the interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere R. Leemans
Part V: 16. Examining the consequences of classifying species into functional types: a simulation model analysis T. M. Smith
17. Ecosystem function of biodiversity: the basis of the viewpoint H. A. Mooney
18. Defining plant functional types: the end view F. I. Woodward, T. M. Smith and H. H. Shugart
Index.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Botany & plant sciences [PST], Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF]