Before any other influences began to fashion life and its lavish diversity, geological events created the initial environments--both physical and chemical--for the evolutionary drama that followed. Drawing on case histories from around the world, Arthur Kruckeberg demonstrates the role of landforms and rock types in producing the unique geographical distributions of plants and in stimulating evolutionary diversification. His examples range throughout the rich and heterogeneous tapestry of the earth's surface: the dramatic variations of mountainous topography, the undulating ground and crevices of level limestone karst, and the subtle realm of sand dunes. He describes the ongoing evolutionary consequences of the geology-plant interface and the often underestimated role of geology in shaping climate. Kruckeberg explores the fundamental connection between plants and geology, including the historical roots of geobotany, the reciprocal relations between geology and other environmental influences, geomorphology and its connection with plant life, lithology as a potent selective agent for plants, and the physical and biological influences of soils. Special emphasis is given to the responses of plants to exceptional rock types and their soils--serpentines, limestones, and other azonal (exceptional) substrates. Edaphic ecology, especially of serpentines, has been his specialty for years. Kruckeberg's research fills a significant gap in the field of environmental science by connecting the conventionally separated disciplines of the physical and biological sciences. Geology and Plant Life is the result of more than forty years of research into the question of why certain plants grow on certain soils and certain terrain structures, and what happens when this relationship is disrupted by human agents. It will be useful to a wide spectrum of professionals in the natural sciences: plant ecologists, paleobiologists, climatologists, soil scientists, geologists, geographers, and conservation scientists, as well as serious amateurs in natural history.

Representing the state of the art in evolutionary paleobiology, this book provides a much-needed overview of this rapidly changing field. An influx of ideas and techniques both from other areas of biology and from within paleobiology itself have resulted in numerous recent advances, including increased recognition of the relationships between ecological and evolutionary theory, renewed vigor in the study of ecological communities over geologic timescales, increased understanding of biogeographical patterns, and new mathematical approaches to studying the form and structure of plants and animals. Contributors to this volume—a veritable who's who of eminent researchers—present the results of original research and new theoretical developments, and provide directions for future studies. Individually wide ranging, these papers all share a debt to the work of James W. Valentine, one of the founders of modern evolutionary paleobiology. This volume's unified approach to the study of life on earth will be a major contribution to paleobiology, evolution, and ecology.

An easy-to-read geology tutorial of the of the eastern Colorado Plateau, this book will answer all of your questions about how this stunning region was formed. Includes detailed road logs.

Though the publication of Hutton's Theory of the Earth (1795) is usually regarded as the beginning of modern geology, it and other works by Hutton have rarely been studied in the original. Dean provides an accurate account of Hutton's major geological writings, in the light of his training and exper

Rocks firmly anchored to the ground and rocks floating through space fascinate us. Jewelry, houses, and roads are just some of the ways we use what has been made from geologic processes to advance civilization. Whether scrambling over a rocky beach, or gazing at spectacular meteor showers, we can't get enough of geology! The Geology Bookwill teach you: What really carved the Grand Canyon. How thick the Earth's crust is. The varied features of the Earth's surface - from plains to peaks. How sedimentary deposition occurs through water, wind, and ice. Effects of erosion. Ways in which sediments become sedimentary rock. Fossilization and the age of the dinosaurs. The powerful effects of volcanic activity. Continental drift theory. Radioisotope and carbon dating. Geologic processes of the past. Our planet is a most suitable home. Its practical benefits are also enhanced by the sheer beauty of rolling hills, solitary plains, churning seas and rivers, and majestic mountains - all set in place by processes that are relevant to today's entire population of this spinning rock we call home.