Bookrcviews

C. A. SI~'KER, J. R. PACKIIAM, I. C. T R U E M A N , P. H. OSWALD, F. H. PERRINO, and W . V. PREST-

WOOD ECOLOGICAL

FLORA

OF THE

SHROPSHIRE

REGION

Shropshire Trust for .Nature Conservation, Agriculture House, Shrewsbury, England 19~5. X V I q- 344 pp., Price 23.-- s The reviewed Flora of Shropshire represents a m o d e r n flora of a region with a long tradition of botanical recording. The book is divided into three parts, each containing several chapters. Part one -- The background -- deals with the h i s t o r y of botanical recording in Shrophshire, with description of environmental conditions and with biogeographical elements. The history of the project of Flora of Shropshire is also given. This is very stimulating reading and it should be named How to organize a suceesful flora. The description of e n v i r o n m e n t a l conditions gives a very nice picture of the landscape. There arc illustrative drawings explaining various geological situations, various soil profiles, etc. in this chapter. In m y opinion, a brief survey of holocene history should be added t o fill a small gap between information concerning geological conditions and the history of people. I t s involving into the latter somewhat suppressed its e x p l a n a t o r y power. The second p a r t -- i-Iabitats and plant communities -- describes in four chapters the communities of the following h a b i t a t types: Open water and wetland; Rock, h e a t h and grassland; Woodland, hedge and scrub; Disturbed and ruderal habitats. The last chapter of this part (Ch. 9) is n a m e d Ecological change, coincidence maps and conservation. The third p a r t -- The flora -- is a catalogue of vascular plants with information about their distribution. I f we compare the reviewed book with some recently published floras (e.g. Flowering plants of Wales b y R. G. ELLIS, or some Swedish floras) we observe t h a t Flora of Shropshirc posses all information usually presented in these high s t a n d a r d floras. But, some great differences may be observed. 1. The second p a r t describing the communities of particular habitats is unusually long and it is, indeed, a survey of vegetation. Each chapter gives some i m p o r t a n t information about the vegetation type concerned (e.g. wetland diversity, succession on various t y p e s of rock etc.). A very i m p o r t a n t p a r t of each chapter is the set of vegetational relevds. I t is a pity t h a t t h e y were not organized in the way usual on the continent -- results (structured table) would be more illustrative. I'~elevds were treated b y two numerical techniques (reciprocal averaging and indicator species divisive classification) and the description of the results gives a clear picture of the vegetation. 2. In the third part, each species is supplemented with the following information: English and Latin name (with synonyms), information about habitats, water regime, n u t r i e n t (P, N) and base status, soil reaction, mieroclimatic conditions, biotic factors, reproductive strategies, typical associates, geographical distribution, and distribution map (731 maps are presented). The ecolog|cal i n f o r m a t i o n presented reflects the d y n a m i c characters of species with the emphasis on the distribution in Shropshire region. In this way it differs from some ecologically oriented Floras where more space is devoted to some static characteristics (e.g. life forms). Distribution maps are based on the data set collected in the period 1970-- 1983. Thus each map represents recent dlstribution and it is not full of old d a t a which are sometimes very misleading, mainly for fugitive species. I f necessary, the old d a t a were mapped to reflect strong changes in the distribution area. Contemporary distribution and the classification of conservation priorities of h a b i t a t types given at the end of part two gives a firm base for conservation strategy. The species concept in the catalogue is broader, some groups are only represented b y n a m e s o f

442

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20, 1985

microspecies observed. The main emphasis was given to t h a t part of the book, which is reflected by the word ecological in the title. I m u s t congratulate the authors and the Shropshire Trust for Nature Conservation on a book which is a new milestone in the writing of local floras. I t can serve as an example of how to write such a flora. I t is innovative, readable by laymen, and w i t h a high scientific s t a n d a r d for specialists. FRANTI~E K KRAHULEC

ItASOT~OV T. A.

LUGOVEDENIJE [ G r a s s l a n d Science] Izd. Moskovskogo universitcta, Moskva 1984, 318 pp. Price R b 1.10. The title of Grassland Science usually suggests a t e x t b o o k for the management of forage production. The present volume, however, is a modern publication on grassland ecosystems, meadows and pasturelands, a balanced t r e a t m e n t of structures, dynamism and functioning of all their compartments, and an evaluation of ecological responses of all biotic structures to h u m a n impacts and pratotechnology. I t is based on m a n y years of specific work by the author and his followers, makes use of the information supplied b y older Russian ecologists as well as by other outstanding representatives of ecology and grassland science (RAM~SKIJ, SMELOV, ~ENNIKOV, ELLE.~'BE~O, KL~I~F) and contains basic traditional knowledge as well as modern integrated information on ecosystems, arising mainly from the I B P period, in a way which deserves full praise. The following properties of grassland ecosystems are included: H a b i t a t factors. Biotic components -- primary producers (species diversity, demography, reproduction of plants), heterotrophic organisms (bacteria, fungi, parasitic vascular plants, animals). Water relations of plants, interrelations between the species, structure of plant communities (species composition, their ecological behaviour, quantitative population analysis). Horizontal and vertical s t r u c t u r e of the plant cover, incl. root systems, its seasonal and annual variation incl. an analysis of the causes (changes in the ecotope, specific properties of the plants, zoogenous, anthropic and p h y t o p a t h o g e n o u s causes). Another chapter deals with successions (endoecogenetic, exodynamic) and with the reproduction and mortality of grassland plants. The section on the impact of m a n on the grassland ecosystems includes b o t h mowing and pasturing (as well as grazing, trampling, excrements). All these sections present quantitative d a t a and aim at explaining the mechanisms of various factors b o t h directly and indirectly, e.g. by the structure ~)f the s t a n d , by the responses of the plant to the water and t e m p e r a t u r e relations and aeration of the soil, b y the changes in the biological activity of the soil, etc. ]'he book exemplifies the c o n t e m p o r a r y trend of progressing from functional geobotany to the explanation of the entire geobiocoonosis, to the description of both its structures and its functioning as an ecosystem. I t is a p i t y t h a t the limited scope of a textbook could not include a subject index and a bibliography of works mentioned in the t e x t ; this would enhance the value of the publication as a manual for scientists. The book deserves to be translated into other languages in order to acquire a wider appeal. In the meantime, the students of Moscow University can be envied for t h e y have an excellent t e x t b o o k at their disposal. MILENA ~YCHNOVSKA

R A B O T N O V T. A.

EKOLOGIJA LUGOYYCH TRAV [The E c o l o g y of M e a d o w Grosses] Izd. Moskovskogo univorsiteta, Mo~kva 1985, 176 pp. Price R b 1.80. Shortly after p u b l i s h i n g a t e x t b o o k on grassland, the author produced a complementary volume The ]Ecology of Meadow Grasses, making use of both his own extensive research and

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443

the literature on the subject. The book describes t h e reactions of plants to the most i m p o r t a n t ecological factors frequently limiting forage production, i.e. to the water relations of the site, t h e aeration of the soil, acidity, mineral n u t r i e n t s (N, P, K, Ca} and to soil salination. Although this selection tends to emphasize t h e practical side of the problem, i.e. the features which can be controlled, the evaluation of their influence is n o t limited to the economic aspect; it also includes an analysis of t h e production processes and interactions. The c h a p t e r on nitrogen is a good example: it includes various forms o f inputs and transformations of nitrogen in the soil and its accessibility to plants. I t describes t h e affinity of various species t o nitrogen and the reactions of plants due t o its presence, such as its influence on tillering, leaf area, seed p r o d u c tion, development of t h e root system, germination and survival of seedlings and the influence on the chemical composition of biomass. The interactions of nitrogen with other factors include those w i t h the w a t e r relations, other mineral nutrients, the light and t e m p e r a t u r e relations and their influence on t h e adaptation and ecological strategies of plants. The book is of a s y n t h e t i c character, without too m a n y tables and w i t h o u t any figures. The bibliography includes about 240 items, out of which about 100 are in Russian. I t is of interest to botanists and ecologists and an excellent biological groundwork for anybody working in grassland and farmland management, for it may assist them in forecasting and intcrpretlng various phenomena arising in amelioration and other management techniques. .-~ILENA RYCHNOVSK~

J . B. HARBORNE and B. L. TURNER PLANT

CHEMOSYSTEMATICS

Academic Press, London, etc., 1984, 562 pp., 81 Tabs., 152 Figs., Price $ 95.--, s 6 5 . This book, w r i t t e n b y distinguished plant chemosystematic experts, summarizes the up-tod a t e knowledge in this research field. I t is divided -- after an introductory part -- into two , sections, the one on secondary metabolites, the other on macromolecular compounds. The list of references is large, 36 pages, and is supplemented b y an index of plant genera and species, an index of chemical compounds and a subject index. I n the i n t r o d u c t o r y p a r t the authors devote their attention to taxonomic principles in great detail, not even o m i t t i n g the history, prospects and philosophical rationalization of this branch of plant science. I n the part on secondary metabolites t h e y s t a r t with substances causing characterisic plant scents and odours, t h e n t h e y discuss plant toxins, cyanogens, alkaloids, iridoids, terpenoids~ t h a n come p l a n t pigments, sugars, f a t t y acids and further metabolites, all of t h e m with respect t o their occurrence, function and importance for taxonomy. I n subsequent chapters, the authors devote t h e i r a t t e n t i o n t o the variability of the occurrence or absence of some second a r y metabolites, for exemple flavonoids, terpenoids and alkaloids, w i t h regard to the application of those reults in t a x o n o m y and systematios at all levels (varieties, species and genera, but also to families and higher levels). There are also interesting chapters dealing w i t h the chemical documentation of hybridization and the detection of hybridogenie taxa, o f phytoalexin induction and the use of chemical data in phylogenetie considerations. The part devoted to macromoleeular compounds starts -- for obvious reasons from proteins and nucleic acids, proceeding to polysacharides w i t h a glimpse at palaeobiochemistry. I n the epilogue the authors evaluate the past t w o decades of research in this field and express their opinions on the prospects of micro- and macromolecular chemosystematics. Their evident optimism is based on t h e years o f successful results reported in their book, which represents a sort of free continuation and bringing u p t o date of Biochemical Systematics b y ALS~O~ and TUR.~ER, from 1963. Given the formidable scope of the book, t h e authors could hardly devote equal attention to all types of compounds. This applies, e.g., to some sesquiterpenic lactones, where error has crept even into the formula of vernolepin, p. 111. Also the history of research of these compounds in various p l a n t groups and the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of topical knowledge on their biogenesis are not on the level of t r e a t m e n t accorded to similar questions concerning some other corn-

444

FOLIA GEOBOTA.N'ICA ET PHYTOTAXONOMICA 20, 1985

pounds. However, this in no w a y lessens the importance and consequences of the conclusions concerning the utilization of p h y t o c h e m l s t r y in plant classification and systematics. An attentive reader can convince himself of this especially in the chapters ell the application o f p h y t o c h c m i s t r y at the level of various taxonomical categories. The superb quality of graphic presentation need not be mentioned, for the Academic Press publishcl~ it is the standard. JAN TOMA~

H. W. WOODHOVS~ (Ed.) ADVANCES

IN BOTANICAL

RESEARCH

10

Academic Press, London, New York, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Sac Paulo, S y d n e y , Tokyo and Toronto 1983, 306 pp., 67 Figs. Price s 40.50, us $ 6 5 . - - . The volume l0 of Advances in Botanical lCesearch is divided into two parts. The first one w r i t t e n b y A. W. LARXt'~ (Univ. Sydney, Australia) and by J. BARR~T (CSIRO, Canberra, Australia) deals with the light harvesting processes in algae. In the second part, R. D. GRAHAM (Univ. Adelaide, Australia) reviews the effects of nutrient stress on the susceptibility of plants to disease with particular reference to trace elements. The authors of the first part of the book covered a wide range of related topics s t a r t i n g from the t a x o n o m y of algae up to the q u a n t u m mechanical t r e a t m e n t of the excitation transfer in the p h o t o s y n t h e t i c unit. The problems are grouped into twelve sections. After a short introduction and t a x o n o m i c survey (see. I. and IL) the reader is provided with information about the light climate o f algae (sec. IiI). The sunlight is characterized, here, as well as the main factors which change its spectrum and integral intensity on its way to algal cells. A general image of the structure and function of the thylakoid membranes can be obtained in Sec. IV. The following section informs in parallel about different aspects of light harvesting (ecology, t a x o n o m y morphology, cytology, biochemistry and biophysics). The photosynthetic pigments which play a crucial role in the energy capture and transfer are characterized in detail in Sec. VI. The harvested energy drives p h o t o c h e m i s t r y in reaction centres which are described in Soc. VII. The following section informs about the structure of the light harvesting p i g m e n t - p r o t e i n complexes and their organisation in the thylakoid membrane. Next, the authors review current knowledge about the energy transfer in these structures (Scc. IX.). Two control mechanisms of photosynthetic apparatus in algae are surveyed in Section X (chromatic adaptation) and X I (photocontrol of biosynthesis of 1H proteins). The first part of the book is concluded b y a review about evolutionary aspects of the light harvesting processes in algae. The merit of this review is the wide range of questions covered which makes it very useful to biologists, chemists and biophysicists working in this interdisciplinary area. The second part of the volume, w r i t t e n by R. D. GRAHAM, deals with the effects of n u t r i e n t stress on the susceptibility of plants to diseases. Nutritionally deficient plants generally have less chance of survival from an atack b y a pathogen. However there is a substantial difference between the response of plants to m a c r o n u t r i e n t and micronutrient deficiencies. The differences in t h e effects of individual elements consist in their biochemical roles and in differential mineral requirements of host and parasite. -- The plants ha~e evolved an active response mechanism to minimize limitations for growth and reproduction under deficiency o f macronutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This mechanism is rooted in the re-mobilization and re-translocation of deficient major n u t r i e n t s from old leaves to the apical meristems of roots and tops, which are the means of survival. A well nourished host is generally more t o l e r a n t of disease. Macronutrlents increase resistance only in the deficiency range, supraoptimal amounts of nutrients do not provide further protection. But nutrition is only one of m a n y factors influencing resistance to disease. U n d e r t h e conditions of m i c r o n u t r i e n t deficiency, on the o t h e r hand, m a n y plants have not evolved mechanisms for re-translocation from old leaves into the growing points. Deficiency s y m p t o m s of iron, boron, manganese, zinc, copper, m o l y b d e n u m (and calcium) appear in the young organs. I t seems t h a t micronutrient deficiencies were not a significant limitation to plant,

445

B()OKREVIEWS

g r o w t h before the introduction of high levels of industrial N P K fertilizers. The macronutrients are involved in m a n y f u n d a m e n t a l metabolic processes and when t h e y are deficient the whole metabolism is disturbed. I n contrast the micronutrients in deficiency affect more specific areas o f metabolism of the host as well as of the parasite and the host's susceptibility to disease. The supply of micronutrients normally increases resistance to disease of deficient plants. The major p a r t of the chapter deals therefore w i t h mieronutrient deficiencies. Their effects m a y be summarized as follows: Correction of a micronutrient deficiency generally increases the tolerance and]or resistance of plants to pathogenic diseases. Yield responses to an element may contain two or e v e n three components, overcoming the deficiency, changing the host plant's defcnce against disease, and having direct toxic effects on the pathogen. Copper, boron, and manganese all influence the synthesis of lignin and phenolic compounds and interact with nitrogen. All have major effects on host susceptibility to disease. The control of fungal diseases with copper has been known for more t h a n a century. But Bordeaux mixtures have also multiple effects on host p l a n t vigour and yield. Boron deficient plants are predisposed to infection by fungi. Manganese deficient plants arc also susceptible to m a n y pathogens. Zinc, iron and nickel have generally different effects, possibly related to phytoalexin synthesis. Iron may be a key clement for which host p l a n t and pathogen compete. An i m p o r t a n t factor in this relation is the Fo: Mn ratio. Silicon, nickel and lithimn are essential elements in the biochemical pathways o f dcfcnce. At the end of the chapter, the author has included some guidelines for experimentation in the s t u d y of pathogenic diseases related to nutrient stress. L&DISLA.V NEDBAL DAOMAB DYKYJOV~

H. WALTER and S . - - W . BRECKLE 0KOLOGIE DERERDE, UND SUBTROPISCHEN

V O L . 2. S P E Z I E L L E ZONEN

0KOLOGIEDER

TROPISCHEN

Gustav Fischer Verlag, S t u t t g a r t , 1984, 461 pp., 162 Figs. Preceded b y a volume defining fundamental ecological concepts, the book under review represents the first part of the specialized volumes intended to cover all essential biomes of our planet. Sticking consistently to their proposed classification of the geobisphere, the authors describe major ecological units related to t h e three intertropicgl zonobiomes: (1) Equatorial zonobiome with a diurnal climate (-~-- perhumid zonobiome), (2) Tropical zonobiome with s u m m e r rains (~- humid-arid zonobiome), and (3) Subtropical zonobiome (----- arid zonobiome). The experienced reader will realize t h a t a similar range of ecological and biogeographical phenomena was t r e a t e d in the work called "Die tropischen und subtropischen Zonen" which s t a r t e d ProL W~-LTER'S Successful coverage of global problems in 1962. Necessarily, our review cannot avoid a comparison of the two works divided b y a 20 years gap. The progress of scientific exploration and detailed examination of tropical nature within the recent period is well reflected in all chapters of the new book. Readers will get much m o r e information about the evolution and age of the tropical rain forests, about soil variation in the tropics, about life and ecosystems in tropical m o u n t a i n s , about diversity and relationships in s a v a n n n a biomes, about ecophysiological peculiarities in mangrove woodlands, about lifeforms and life strategies in the desert areas, about biogeographical peculiarities in Australia. Numerous drawings, tables and photographs reinforce the didactic value of the t e x t which managed to find a balanced proportion between generalization and particular ease studies. U n d e r s t a n d a b l y , a n y reviewer and reader m a y raise some doubts about the accent laid on individual topics, the selection of particular examples, and emphasis on various illustrations. We feel, for example, t h a t , in our world totally affected by h u m a n activities, m o s t of the hiomes should he treated as seminatural systems, and t h a t within individual zonobiomes man-induced " a n t h r o p o b i o m e s " should he distingushed. Trees deserve more a t t e n t i o n as d o m i n a n t organisms of the tropical forests; their growth, d e v e l o p m e n t of foliage, structure of buttresses and roots, reproduction strategy, etc., could be explained in different terms t h a n those used by t h e

FOLIA GEOBOTANICA ET PHYTOTAXONOMICA 20, 1985,

446

authors. Tree architecture and silvigenesis, as conceived b y HALLI~,OLDEM'AN and TOMLINSON (in Tropical Trees and Forests, 1978) might illustrate the diversity of tropical nature without, necessarily referring to particular taxonomical units. Surprisingly, T. C. WrUTMORE'S Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East (1975), the most spectacular summarization of the Indo-Malayan forests, has been omitted. B y their research and experience, b o t h authors are primarily connected with plant organisms and p l a n t ecology, and, consequently faced a difficult problem of adequate interpretation of animal ecology. They did their best in the short chapters called "Konsumenten" ( ~ consumers). Zoologically minded ecologists will not be fully satisfied and search for m a n y more details on the role of animals in the tropical world, such as r e p o r t e d in numerous works by D. Hi JA.WZEN. For the preparation of future editions, the authors might accept a couple of suggestions and corrections from specialists working in various fields of ecology and different areas of the world. For example, the short chapter on the Galapagos lslands (p. 266) needs a thorough restoration: contrary to the given data, this archipelago is less t h a n 900 km d i s t a n t from the continent, its m a x i m u m altitude surpasses 1700 m, its flora counts 640 species of vascular plants, including 230 endemic taxa; the annual totals of precipitation in their coastal zone is well below 100 ram, while in the windward uplands it reaches 1000 ram; the correct names of some of the quoted d o m i n a n t plants should be Psidium galapageium, Zanthoxylum /agara, Piscidia carthagenensis, etc. The above notes merely suggest how difficult was the task of summarizing current knowledge on tropical and subtropical ecology. We have to conclude t h a t students of the n a t u r a l sciences will accept the new book as a safe point in the s t o r m y sea of r e d u n d a n t ecological literature. The conceptual and terminological structure of this work offers a reasonable basis for university lectures and for all readers who are interested in the uneasy coupling of ecology and biogeography. JAY JENiK

~IANNES MAYER WALDER

EUROPAS

Gustav Fischer Verlag, S t u t t g a r t , New York 1984, 691 Seiten, 278 Abb., 6 Tab., Prcis DM 198,--. Eine ungeheure, st~ndig wachsende Menge von pflanzensoziologischen Daten fiber die Vegetation Europas macht eine tibersichtliche Anordnung, vor allem Vereinheitlichung verschiedener Betrachtungen, Synonymisierung der identischen Einheiten und einheitliche Darlegung der Materie ausserordentlich niitTJich. Der dicht besicdelte europ~ische Subkontinent m i t s t a r k gest6rter n a t u r n a h e r Vegetation, aber in vielen Teilen bis ir~s Detail b e k a n n t e r Pflanzendecke, verdiente in erster Linie eine synthetische l~bersicht der Vegetationsverh~ltnisse. Es ist daher ein grosses Verdienst von Prof. Dr. HA-~ES MAYER, dass er das Vorhaben wagte, eine l~bersicht der W~lder Europas zusammenzusteller~, such wenn diese Aufgabe die M6glichkeiten einer individuellen Arbeit iiberschrsitet. Den waldvegetationskundlichen Grundlagen (Boden, Klima, Florenregionen, historische und heutige Verh~ltnisse) ist nur eine kurze Einfiihrung gewidmet. Der iiberwiegende Tell des Buches behandelt die n a t u r n a h e n Waldgesellschaften in eizelnen Waldregionen Europas n a c h ihrer Struktur, Artenzusammensetzung, Wuchsleistung uhd waldbaulichen Merkmalen. Geschichtliche, chorologische, s y n d y n a m i s c h e und andere fiir die betreffenden Waidregionon wiehtige Aspekte sind konsequent behandelt. Die Nationalparks und die Naturwaldreservate einzelner Waldregionen werden kurz charakterisiert und auf einer K a r t e dargestellt. Der Verfasser erg~tnzt die auf floristischer Grundlage gegrtindete Gliederung yon n a t u r n a h e n W~tldern urn waldbauliche Charakteristiken und Beurteilungen, womit die wichtigsten praktisehen Probleme nicht nur eine geographische, sondern such eine soziologische Basis gewinnen. Mit einem kurzen waldbaulichen Ausblick (Prognose fiir die Weltforstwirtschat~, Zukunftperspektiven for die europ~ische Forstwirtschaft, iiberwirtschaftliche Funktion des Waldes, forstwirtschaftliche Zielsetzung fiir das 21. J a h r h u n d e r t , zukiinftige waldbauliehe Massnahmen), mit umfangreichcm Literaturverzeichnis und mit Registern wird das Bueh abgeschlossen.

BOOKREVIEWS

447

Wortet man das Buch ala Ganzes, muss man dem Verfasser aufrichtig gratulieron. Ohne jahrzehntelange U n t e r s u c h u n g e n in allen europiiischen Liindern h~itte er nieht eine so umfangreiehe Literatur aimwerton und ein einheitliches Bild des europiiischen n a t u r n a h o n Waldes geben kSnnon. Auch der eigene Beitrag des Verfassers zur K e n n t n i s der europ~isehen Wiilder ist aehtungsgobietend: die Struktur aller wichtigon Waldgesellschaften ist auf charakteristischen Bestandsaufrissen dargestellt, die E i n o r d n u n g der Waldgesellschaften nach 5kologischen Gradienten und HShenstufen erleichtert wesentlich die Orientierung des Losers in der Flut yon Informationen, die waldbaulichen Richtlinien ermSglichen der forstlichen Praxis, die vegetationskundlichen D a t e n anzuwonden usw. Andererseits war das vom Autor gew~hlte K o n z e p t der Vogetationsgliederung Europas sicher nicht das gliicklichste. Die Gliederung Europas in Waldregionen nach RUBNEI~ und R~.1~HOLD0 ist aufgrund der heutigen Kenntnisse im ganzen kaum a n n e h m b a r : 1. Die mitteleurop~iiscbe Eichen-Buchenwaldregion ist zu eng und t r o t z d e m heterogen gefasst. Die subkontinentalen Teile sind praktiseh buchenlos, die Nadelholzarten (Kiefer, Tanne, Fichte) spielon im n a t u r n a h e n Waldbild eino bedeutende Rolle. 2. Osteuropa ist dagegen zu welt gefasst; ihre Westgrenze muss nach Osten, ausserhalb des Bereiches yon subatlantisch gotSnten W~lder (Gcdio-Carpinenion) verschoben werden. 3. Nordeuropa schliesst ohno woitere Differenzierung die arktischo und boreale Zone ein; die wesentlichen Unterschiede zwischen atlantischon (Birken-), mittleren (Picea excelsa, P i n u s sylvestris- ) und kontinentalen ( Picea obovata, Pinus sibirica, Abies sibirica-) Waldgebieton sind nur als geographische Abwandlungen betrachtet. 4. Der ganze Karpatenbogen ist Siidostouropa zugeordnet. Die Verbindung der karpatischen Vegetationskomplexe (Eiehen-Hainbuchen-, Buchon-, Buchen-Tannen- und FichtenwAlder, z. Toil Knieholzbest~inde und alpine Rasen) mit s u b m e d i t e r r a n e n und Kontincntalen Vegetationstypen der Balkanl~tnder ist nicht berechtigt. ])or Gebirgskomplex der K a r p a t e n s t e h t den Alpen viol n~her als den Balkanlgndern. 5. Wllhrend die westlichen und mittleren Toile von Sfideuropa m e d i t e r r a n e (incl. supra-bis oromediterrane) und submed i ~ r r a n e Vegetation einschliessen, ist der 6stlicho Toil Stideuropas nut auf die mediterrane Zone beschr~inkt. Die Hauptgliedorung des Inhaltes nach Waldregionen bringt welter eino grosse Zersplitterung der Informationon fiber eng verwandte Vegetationseinheiten, sogar Assoziationcn. So wird z.B. Carici elongatae-Alnetum an l0 Stellen des Buches (S. 65, 89, 106, 177, 182, 218, 386, 393,410, 434) behandelt, da es in verschiedenon Waldregionen und Waldzonen vorkommt. Der Verfasser hat wirklich ein umfangreiches Literaturquellenmaterial aimgowertet, mit Ausnahmc des aim Osteuropa (obwohl dieser Toil mehr als die H~lfte yon Europa umfasst), we er sich sichor aim sprachlichen Grtinden n u t auf die in niehtslawischon Sprachen abgefasste Literatur beschr/inkte. FOr das Gebiet der U d S S R bleibt daher der K o n n t n i s s t a n d etwa auf dem Niveau yon WALTER.2) Die Ergebnisse zahlreicher Untersuchungen, die u.a. auch in einem Buch yon GRIBOVA et al. a) zusammengofasst sind, wiirden das Bild der osteurop~tischen Waldvegetation wosentlich erggnzen. Das Buch ist in einem konzisen, sogar Telegrammstil abgefasst. Das erm5glicht die Eingliederung vieler Informationen, die jedoch dem in die Vegetatioimverhgltnisse nicht eingeweihten Loser das Gesamtbild etwas verhiillen. Mehrere Versehen, besondors in den topographischen Namen, abet auch in den Abbildungon (z.B. Abb. 103 mit mehreren falsehen Angabon der Fundorte) und im Literaturvorzeichnis ersehweren die Nutzung dot Angaben. Auch die Bezeichnung der Vegetationseinheiten in Bestandsaufrisscn unterscheidet sich oft yon den im Text angegebenen Namen, was die eindeutige Zuordnung der Abbildungen kompliziert. I)iese wonigen kritischen Bemorkungen soilen jedoch den wissenschaftlichen Wert des Buches nicht schmiilern. Sic sind als Anregung ftir die weitere Heraimgabe dieser kleinen "Enzyldop/idie" dor n a t u r n a h e n Waldvegetatioa Europas gemeint. Das Buch yon H. MAYER werden sicher Pflanzensoziologen, vegctationskundlich orientierte Forstleute, LandschaftsSkologen und jeder begriissen, der iibersichtlieho D a t o n fiber die Waldvegetation Europas sucht. ROBERT I~EUHAUSL 1) 1RUm~ERK. e t Pt,EINHOLD F. (1953): Das natorliche Waldbild Europas als Grundlage fiir einen europAischen Waldbau. -- Hamburg-Berlin. 2) WALTEa H. (1974): Die Vegetation Osteuropas, Nord- und Zentralasiens. -- Stuttgart. 3) GmBOVA S. A., ISA(~ENXO T. I. et LAV~ENXO E. M. [eds.] (1980): Pflanzendocke des europAischen Teiles der UdSSR. -- Leningrad. (Russisch).

FOLIA GEOBOTANICA ]~T PHYTOTAXONO]KICA 20, 1985

9 J. SC~WOE~BEL EINFOttRUNG

IN DIE

LIMNOLOGIE.

5. Aufl. UTB -- Gustav Fischer Verlag Stuttgart 1984, V T 233 pp., 69 Figs., 32 Tabs. Price DM 17,80. In our time, one of the characteristics of which is the flood of new scientific information, the requirement for summarizing handbooks and information booklets is always acute. Meeting t h e ~ requirements is one of the main task of the " U T B -- Fiir Wisseuschaften" paperback 9 series published by the Gustav Fischer -- Verlag in S t u t t g a r t , in cooperation with many other publishers in the F.R.G., Switzerland, Austria, France and U.S.A. The fact t h a t one of these booklets has reached 5 editions in 14 years is certainly a certificate of a high quality and the readers' very positive response. I n the first three chapters, short information is given on the position of limnology in the system of science, on its history, on the circulation of water in the nature and the history of inland waters. The structure and physical properties of water ~nd the physical relations (radiation and temperature r6gime, circulation) in b o t h s t a n d i n g and running waters are the content of the next two chapters. Chapter 6 gives a synopsis of biological communities in standing waters and in their individual parts and typos (pelagial, littoral, houston and pleuston, profundal, in bogs) and in running waters. The next two chapters are devoted to the metabolic processes. In Chapter 7, t h e problems of dissolved gases and of b o t h organic and inorganic substances are d i s c u s ~ d as well as the relationship between the sediments and the metabolism. Chapter 8 brings a review of the primary and secondary production, primary and secondary consumption and of the destruction processes; here, also, various types of bacteria and the flow and turnover of m a t t e r and energy in aquatic ecosystems are described. The applied limnology, with i n f o r m a t i o n on sewage of various origin and character, wastewater t r e a t m e n t , the problems of water pollution, ~lf-purification and eutrophication processes are the content of Chapter 9. A t the end we find a very well elaborated glossary of t e r m s (Chapter 10), long lists of references {special lists for general textbooks, important limnological journals, and references cited in the t e x t -- Chapter 11) and the subject index inclusive of the scientific name~ of biota (Chapter 12). In comparison with the previous editions, it is mainly the parts on the limnology of running waters, p r i m a r y production, sewage t r e a t m e n t and lakes t h e r a p y t h a t have been supplement e d ; also some illustrations have been added. A small, but a very well w r i t t e n and highly useful booklet! OLD/~ICH L~OTSK~2