The first edition of this book was the first to provide an integrated description of sap ascension from an anatomical and functional point of view. The second edition opens with the three-dimensional aspects of wood anatomy. The cohesion-tension theory and new evidence are introduced in response to recent controversies over the mechanism of sap ascent in plants. The physiology, anatomy and biophysics of xylem dysfunction are discussed and new insights into hydraulic architecture are reviewed with special emphasis on physiological limits on maximum transpiration and how hydraulic architecture limits gas exchange, carbon gain and growth of plants. The text concludes with a description of xylem failure and pathology. The book highlights fascinating areas of current research with the aim to stimulate more work in the future.

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.

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

Woody plants such as trees have a significant economic and climatic influence on global economies and ecologies. This completely revised classic book is an up-to-date synthesis of the intensive research devoted to woody plants published in the second edition, with additional important aspects from the authors' previous book, Growth Control in Woody Plants. Intended primarily as a reference for researchers, the interdisciplinary nature of the book makes it useful to a broad range of scientists and researchers from agroforesters, agronomists, and arborists to plant pathologists and soil scientists. This third edition provides crutial updates to many chapters, including: responses of plants to elevated CO2; the process and regulation of cambial growth; photoinhibition and photoprotection of photosynthesis; nitrogen metabolism and internal recycling, and more. Revised chapters focus on emerging discoveries of the patterns and processes of woody plant physiology.* The only book to provide recommendations for the use of specific management practices and experimental procedures and equipment*Updated coverage of nearly all topics of interest to woody plant physiologists* Extensive revisions of chapters relating to key processes in growth, photosynthesis, and water relations* More than 500 new references * Examples of molecular-level evidence incorporated in discussion of the role of expansion proteins in plant growth; mechanism of ATP production by coupling factor in photosynthesis; the role of cellulose synthase in cell wall construction; structure-function relationships for aquaporin proteins