Survival Strategies of Annual Desert Plants (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9783540431725)

Annual desert plant species of unrelated taxa in the Negev Desert of Israel have developed complementary sets of adaptations and survival strategies as ecological equivalents with physiological, morphological and anatomical resemblances, in the various stages of their life cycles. After 40 years of research in hot deserts Yitzchak Gutterman provides a comprehensive treatise of such adaptations and strategies. In doing so he covers the following topics: post-maturation primary seed dormancy, which prevents germination of maturing seeds before the summer; seed dispersal mechanisms with escape or protection strategies; cautious or opportunistic germination strategies; seedling drought tolerance. The day-length is an important factor in regulating flowering as well as the phenotypic plasticity of seed germination which is also affected by maternal factors.

Author: Yitzchak Gutterman
ISBN-10: 3540431721
ISBN-13: 9783540431725
Publisher: Springer
Language: English
Published: 08/28/2002
Pages: 348
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.53lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.88d