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Contents:
1 - Introduction and remarks; 2 - Ecological fundamentals; 3 - Ecological systems and biology of ecosystems; 4 - Zonobiomes I-IX; 5 - Summary and conclusions.
Review:
This is one of the latest editions of one of Europe's key texts on biogeography. Subtitled 'the ecological systems of the geo-biosphere' it outlines a way of thinking rahter than just describe how vegetaion is distributed. Reading the development of the 'zonobiomes' one is struck by the way in which continental ecology has differed from its UK/N.American counterpart. Here we see a text developing an idea from basic theory rather than find patterns and then try to draw lines around them. Although this makes it a standard for the university library there is also a great deal for the secondary student as well.
We start with a brief introduction to the aims of ecology and the impotrance of human impact and study. This is less a review of the text than more of a brief guide as to why it is important to study vegetation patterns and train othrs to study them. From this point, the text is divided into two sections. The first section is divided into two parts, the first of which is given over to a review of key ecological principles as they apply to plant distribution e.g. light, temperature, water, mineral supplies etc. The second part starts to describe the zonobiome. A zonobiome is a key unit of biogeography. It's not quite the same an a biome but there are similarities. The fundamental notion is that climate is a key factor in plant patterns. Describe the climate pattern and you can get a range of suitable plants which can be aggregated into zones of similar vegetation. Although this might sound complex in nature it is only another example of physical factors being limiting in ecological settings. Once we have the basic zonobiome, it is possible to sub-divide that into zonoecotones, biogeocenes and synusiae. Like many pattens attempting to use climate, the system is not straight forward. Mountain systems have their own systems similar to azonal soils in other contexts. Once these basic points have been explained, the text moves onto key zonobiomes. Sections here might vary in length but the same fundamentals are used. After a few general points we start by looking at climate and soils. Individual ecosystems might be discussed in some contexts. After that, the key zonobiome is described and some minor variations highlighted. Although this outline is followed through the various zonobiomes this does not really give an indication of the wealth of information provided in each section. As you might expect there are numerous climate graphs for each geographical region of the zonobiome. There are numerous cross-sections of the vegetation, photographs and detailed descriptions of variations. A final chapter summarises the main work nad then gives it some practical perspective in terms of development, technology and sustainable land use.
This is a text that works on several levels. For the serious biogeographer and plant ecologist/phytosociologist this must be seen as a classic work on plant distributions: one would assume it would have a ready place on such library shelves. However the sheer wealth of detail, much of it easily understood, would appeal to the senior school student or teacher wanting to get information not readily seen elsewhere. It has an encyclopaedic coverage of global vegetation patterns. Even if one prefers another example of classification there can be no denying the scholarship shown in this text and the value it has for our understanding of global patterns.