This eleventh edition was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time and it is considered to be a landmark encyclopaedia for scholarship and literary style.

Photosynthesis, Photorespiration, and Plant Productivity provides a basis for understanding the main factors concerned with regulating plant productivity in plant communities. The book describes photosynthesis and other processes that affect the productivity of plants from the standpoint of enzyme chemistry, chloroplasts, leaf cells, and single leaves. Comprised of nine chapters, the book covers the biochemical and photochemical aspects of photosynthesis; respiration associated with photosynthetic tissues; and photosynthesis and plant productivity in single leaves and in stands. It provides illustrated and diagrammatic discussion and presents the concepts in outlined form to help readers understand the concepts efficiently. Moreover, this book explores the rates of enzymatic reactions and the detailed structure and function of chloroplasts and other organelles and their variability. It explains the mechanism of photosynthetic electron transport and phosphorylation and the importance of diffusive resistances to carbon dioxide assimilation, especially the role of stomata. It also discusses the importance of dark respiration in diminishing productivity; the differences in net photosynthesis that occur between many species and varieties; and the influence of climate to photosynthetic reactions. The book is an excellent reference for teachers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in biology, plant physiology, and agriculture. Research professionals working on the disciplines of plant production and food supply will also find this book invaluable.

The concept of using mathematical models to investigate crop growth and productivity has attracted much attention in recent years. A major reason is that modelling can allow an expert in one area to assess the impact of his ideas in the light of other advances in our understanding of crop performance. Whether or not many of the claims made for or the demands made of models can ever be satisfied, this role as a focus for quantitative definition of crop growth is an important one. One consequence is that the development and appraisal of such models requires the efforts of scientists from a wide range of disciplines. This NATO Advanced Research workshop was designed to bring together such a range of scientists to consider the wheat crop, and assess our understanding of the crop and our ability to model its growth and yield. The ideas and organization behind the workshop involved many people. The U. K. interest in a computer model of wheat growth was instigated by Dr. Joe Landsberg (then of Long Ashton Research Station, but now Director of CSIRO Division of Forest Research), who in 1979 started a modelling exercise as part of a collaborative study of the causes of yield variation in winter wheat, involving four research institutes supported by the Agricultural and Food Research Council. Dr.

Photosynthesis: Physiology and Metabolism is the we have concentrated on the acquisition and ninth volume in theseries Advances in Photosynthesis metabolism of carbon. However, a full understanding (Series Editor, Govindjee). Several volumes in this of reactions involved in the conversion of to series have dealt with molecular and biophysical sugars requires an integrated view of metabolism. aspects of photosynthesis in the bacteria, algae and We have, therefore, commissioned international cyanobacteria, focussing largely on what have been authorities to write chapters on, for example, traditionally, though inaccurately, termed the ‘light interactionsbetween carbon and nitrogen metabolism, reactions’(Volume 1, The Molecular Biology of on respiration in photosynthetic tissues and on the Cyanobacteria;Volume2,AnoxygenicPhotosynthetic control of gene expression by metabolism. Photo- Bacteria, Volume 3, Biophysical Techniques in synthetic carbon assimilation is also one of the most Photosynthesis and Volume 7, The Molecular Biology rapid metabolic processes that occurs in plant cells, of the Chloroplasts and Mitochondria in Chlamy- and therefore has to be considered in relation to domonas). Volume 4 dealt with Oxygenic Photo- transport, whether it be the initial uptake of carbon, synthesis: The Light Reactions, and volume 5 with intracellular transport between organelles, inter- Photosynthesis and the Environment, whereas the cellular transport, as occurs in plants, or transport structure and function of lipids in photosynthesis of photosynthates through and out of the leaf. All was covered in Volume 6 of this series: Lipids in these aspects of transport are also covered in the Photosynthesis: Structure, Function and Genetics, book.

A guide to environmental fluctuations that examines photosynthesis under both controlled and stressed conditions Photosynthesis, Productivity and Environmental Stress is a much-needed guide that explores the topics related to photosynthesis (both terrestrial and aquatic) and puts the focus on the basic effect of environmental fluctuations. The authors—noted experts on the topic—discuss photosynthesis under both controlled and stressed conditions and review new techniques for mitigating stressors including methods such as transgeneics, proteomics, genomics, ionomics, metabolomics, micromics, and more. In order to feed our burgeoning world population, it is vital that we must increase food production. Photosynthesis is directly related to plant growth and crop production and any fluctuation in the photosynthetic activity imposes great threat to crop productivity. Due to the environmental fluctuations plants are often exposed to the different environmental stresses that cause decreased photosynthetic rate and problems in the plant growth and development. This important book addresses this topic and: Covers topics related to terrestrial and aquatic photosynthesis Highlights the basic effect of environmental fluctuations Explores common stressors such as drought, salinity, alkalinity, temperature, UV-radiations, oxygen deficiency, and more Contains methods and techniques for improving photosynthetic efficiency for greater crop yield Written for biologists and environmentalists, Photosynthesis, Productivity and Environmental Stress offers an overview of the stressors affecting photosynthesis and includes possible solutions for improved crop production.

"Life Is Bottled Sunshine" [Wynwood Reade, Martyrdom of Man, 1924]. This inspired phrase is a four-word summary of the significance of photosynthesis for life on earth. The study of photosynthesis has attracted the attention of a legion of biologists, biochemists, chemists and physicists for over 200 years. Discoveries in Photosynthesis presents a sweeping overview of the history of photosynthesis investigations, and detailed accounts of research progress in all aspects of the most complex bioenergetic process in living organisms. Conceived of as a way of summarizing the history of research advances in photosynthesis as of millennium 2000, the book evolved into a majestic and encyclopedic saga involving all of the basic sciences. The book contains 111 papers, authored by 132 scientists from 19 countries. It includes overviews; timelines; tributes; minireviews on excitation energy transfer, reaction centers, oxygen evolution, light-harvesting and pigment-protein complexes, electron transport and ATP synthesis, techniques and applications, biogenesis and membrane architecture, reductive and assimilatory processes, transport, regulation and adaptation, Genetics, and Evolution; laboratories and national perspectives; and retrospectives that end in a list of photosynthesis symposia, books and conferences. Informal and formal photographs of scientists make it a wonderful book to have. This book is meant not only for the researchers and graduate students, but also for advanced undergraduates in Plant Biology, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics and History of Science.