Seeds - Ecology, Biogeography and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination

700 pages  ISBN 0120802600      £83.00

This comprehensive volume provides a working hypothesis of the ecological and environmental conditions under which various kinds of seed dormancy have developed. It present information on the seed germination of more than 3,500 species of trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous species, making this a valuable reference for anyone studying germination. This book provides information on the characteristics of each type of seed dormancy, covers evolutionary/pylogenetic relationships and shows how each type of dormancy is broken in nature and what environmental conditions are required for germination after dormancy is broken. It discusses the germination ecology of plants with specialised habitat preferences and life cycles and covers genetic and maternal preconditioning effects on seed dormancy and germination. It explains how studies can be carried out to distinguish persistent from transient soil seed banks and covers those species that should be controlled, propagated and conserved, providing guidelines for ecologically meaningful germination studies.