In the course of evolution, a great variety of root systems have learned to overcome the many physical, biochemical and biological problems brought about by soil. This development has made them a fascinating object of scientific study. This volume gives an overview of how roots have adapted to the soil environment and which roles they play in the soil ecosystem. The text describes the form and function of roots, their temporal and spatial distribution, and their turnover rate in various ecosystems. Subsequently, a physiological background is provided for basic functions, such as carbon acquisition, water and solute movement, and for their responses to three major abiotic stresses, i.e. hard soil structure, drought and flooding. The volume concludes with the interactions of roots with other organisms of the complex soil ecosystem, including symbiosis, competition, and the function of roots as a food source.

Biological diversity, the variety of living organisms on Earth, is traditionally viewed as the diversity of taxa, and species in particular. However, other facets of diversity also need to be considered for a comprehensive understanding of evolutionary and ecological processes. This novel book demonstrates the advantages of adopting a functional approach to diversity in order to improve our understanding of the functioning of ecological systems and theircomponents. The focus is on plants, which are major components of these systems, and for which the functional approach has led to major scientific advances over the last 20 years. PlantFunctional Diversity presents the rationale for a trait-based approach to functional diversity in the context of comparative plant ecology and agroecology. It demonstrates how this approach can be used to address a number of highly debated questions in plant ecology pertaining to plant responses to their environment, controls on plant community structure, ecosystem properties, and the services these deliver to human societies. This research level text will be of particular relevance and use tograduate students and professional researchers in plant ecology, agricultural sciences and conservation biology.

Plants require a proper balance of matter and energy to maintain their survival and reproduction. Biotic and/or abiotic stresses in diverse environments could influence plant photosynthesis, water and nutrient acquisition and utilization. Through the lens of plant physiological and functional ecology, the study of responses of individual plant traits and/or integration of plant responses to environmental change has been well developed. The variation of plant physiological characteristics and functional traits has been recognized with hundreds of high-quality papers on topics of plant responses to environmental stresses. For now, despite the increasing number of studies trying to establish a linkage between plant physiological processes and functional traits, these covariations have received limited theoretical and experimental verification. This knowledge gap hampers our ability to understand and predict the comprehensive responses of plants to environmental stresses at different scales.

Human activities such as agriculture and mining have led to serious negative effects on biodiversity and important ecosystem services including biodiversity loss and climate change. Thus, it is important to quantify the key determinants of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecological restoration of degraded plant communities in climate change sensitive ecosystems (i.e. subalpine and alpine meadow communities in Qinghai, tropical rainforests and tropical mountains). In this way, effective management, policy and methods can be developed to reduce the influence of climate change on these climate change sensitive ecosystems. The aforementioned human activities continue to destroy and degrade plant communities and ecosystem functioning. Climatic changes further exacerbate negative impacts and may trigger rapid loss of species, precipitate decline and changes in the flows of ecosystem goods and services. As the collective anthropogenic influence intensifies, some ecosystems may be more sensitive than others to these changes. Ecosystems that contribute greatly to human well-being through the delivery of biodiversity and ecosystem benefits should be the focus of particular concern. There are key knowledge gaps on the specific nature of anthropogenic impacts, species and ecosystem responses, and possible management and mitigation measures. Comprehensive documentation of these aspects from highly sensitive regions and ecosystems is urgently needed, particularly at fine scales, which is relevant for developing management and mitigation measures. Pathways such as ecological restoration can offset some of the impacts, but even quantifying the impacts of observed and anticipated changes is far from adequate and other mitigation measures must be considered.