The book will describe the xylem structure of different plant groups, and will put the findings in a physiological and ecological context. For instance, when differences in vessel diameter are featured, then there will be an explanation why this matters for water transport efficiency and safety from cavitation. The focus is on the hydraulic function of xylem, although mechanical support and storage will also be covered. Featured plant groups include ferns (which only have primary xylem), conifers (tracheid-based xylem), lianas (extremely wide and long vessels), drought-adapted shrubs as well as the model systems poplar and grapevine. The book chapters will draw on the expertise and cutting edge research of a diversified group of internationally known researchers working in different anatomical and physiological sub-disciplines. Over the last two decades, much progress has been made in understanding how xylem structure relates to plant function. Implications for other timely topics such as drought-induced forest dieback or the regulation of plant biomass production will be discussed.

The present volume, Xylem Structure and the Ascent of Sap by M. H. Zimmermann, very appropriately inaugurates the Springer Series in Wood Science, an enterprise recently initiated in the belief that wood and related forest products at this time have attained a new importance as renewable resources available in vast quantities. The scope of the series is intended to be wide, and virtually all aspects of wood science and technology will be considered. Topics will include the structure of wood and bark and the chemistry of their various components, the physical and mechanical properties of wood, its formation and biodegradation, the processing of forest products, the utilization of the forest biomass, and the manufacture of pulp and paper. Some of the volumes in this series are intended to be textbooks, but most will be monographs concerned with a limited subject area that will be treated in depth. The majority will have only one author. The books will be written by recognized experts, and will reflect the most recent information available. It is my hope that they will serve the purpose of drawing attention to wood, one of the most remarkable and useful of all natural materials.

With more than 500 species distributed all around the Northern Hemisphere, the genus Quercus L. is a dominant element of a wide variety of habitats including temperate, tropical, subtropical and mediterranean forests and woodlands. As the fossil record reflects, oaks were usual from the Oligocene onwards, showing the high ability of the genus to colonize new and different habitats. Such diversity and ecological amplitude makes genus Quercus an excellent framework for comparative ecophysiological studies, allowing the analysis of many mechanisms that are found in different oaks at different level (leaf or stem). The combination of several morphological and physiological attributes defines the existence of different functional types within the genus, which are characteristic of specific phytoclimates. From a landscape perspective, oak forests and woodlands are threatened by many factors that can compromise their future: a limited regeneration, massive decline processes, mostly triggered by adverse climatic events or the competence with other broad-leaved trees and conifer species. The knowledge of all these facts can allow for a better management of the oak forests in the future.

Vascular Transport in Plants provides an up-to-date synthesis of new research on the biology of long distance transport processes in plants. It is a valuable resource and reference for researchers and graduate level students in physiology, molecular biology, physiology, ecology, ecological physiology, development, and all applied disciplines related to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and biotechnology. The book considers long-distance transport from the perspective of molecular level processes to whole plant function, allowing readers to integrate information relating to vascular transport across multiple scales. The book is unique in presenting xylem and phloem transport processes in plants together in a comparative style that emphasizes the important interactions between these two parallel transport systems. - Includes 105 exceptional figures - Discusses xylem and phloem transport in a single volume, highlighting their interactions - Syntheses of structure, function and biology of vascular transport by leading authorities - Poses unsolved questions and stimulates future research - Provides a new conceptual framework for vascular function in plants

This book is about the developmental anatomy of large, complex plants, particularly of the woody plants that grow and survive for decades or centuries. It is focused on the meaning of that anatomy, that integrated structure, as a determinant of effective function. A pervading theme is that the plant structures that have survived "selection" processes during the eons of organismal evolution, within the larger context of geo logic and climatic evolution, are well attuned to biochemical and biophysical principles that determine and define efficient function. The sets of structure-and-function couples existing in the various plant taxa differ so widely that generalities are often difficult to discern. This diversity is due partly to the broad range of ecological conditions to which higher plant organisms have become adapted under stresses imposed by competition and continual climatic change. It is also due to the tendency of different taxa, with their different complements of inherited information, to respond to similar situations in different ways. Cognizant of this reality, we have tried throughout the book to avoid generalizing too broadly on the basis of data from the relatively small fraction of plant species that have as yet been studied. This book is intended for those who have already studied the anatomy and develop ment of plants. It is addressed to advanced students, teachers, and researchers in the interrelated fields of botany, forestry, horticulture, and agronomy, and to others having professional interests in the culture of woody plants and the stewardship of ecosystems.