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Dep. of Plant Sciences, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 or
pessarak{at}ag.arizona.edu
D.M. ORCUTT and E.T. NILSEN. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012. 2000. Hardback, 683 pp., $125.00. ISBN 0-471-17008-9.
This book is intended for use as a textbook as well as a reference source. It covers plant stress physiology under soil and biotic environmental stress factors and was developed for use in plant physiology, plant pathology, and plant ecophysiology courses. It is also a reference source for both students and educators in a diversity of botanical fields other than stress physiology. The book is a starting point for graduate students who seek careers in plant physiology, plant pathology, and plant ecology. Focusing on evaluation of the various mechanisms used by plants to cope with environmental stresses, the authors have used the environmental stress factors that influence plant performance in the broad sense. These factors have been divided in abiotic stress factors in soil and the biotic factors.
The text of this book is organized into three main sections as follows: (I). Soil Processes and Plant Stress Physiology, (II). Biotic Factors and Plant Stress Physiology, (III). Anthropogenic-Induced Stresses. In addition, two sections follow the above three main sections, including (IV). Conclusion and (V). Appendices. Section (I) consists of five chapters (Chapters 1–5), including "Introduction and General Concepts," "Soil/Plant Relations," "Nutrient Deficiency Stress and Plant Growth and Development," "Micorrhizae," and "Salinity Stress." Section (II) also consists of five chapters (Chapters 6–10), entitled "Influence of Plant Pathogens on Host Physiology," "Herbivory and Plant Stress," "Allelochemistry as a Plant Stress," "Weeds and other Competitors," and "Parasitic Vascular Plants." Section (III) contains two chapters (Chapters 11 and 12), entitled "Soil Pollutants: Heavy Metals and Pesticides" and "Atmospheric Pollution: SO2, O3, NO2, and Greenhouse Gases." Section (IV) contains one chapter, entitled "Generalities, Trends, and Future Directions." The Appendices are placed in Section (V).
The authors have presented some introductory material about the field and some preliminary information in Chapter 1 that is a critical foundation for the material presented in the later chapters. Chapters 2 through 5 present information on soil stressors and their influences on plant physiology. The authors have included a chapter discussing the processes by which plants interact with the soil environment. Then, they have included two chapters related to responses of plants to elemental chemistry of the soil environment. The authors, then, have included a chapter on plant responses to mycorrhizae in this section to represent a soil-based biotic interaction.
Chapters 6 through 10 (Section II) cover plant responses to biotic factors of the environment. The authors have divided this material on the basis of the organisms that are interacting with plants. The chapter on pathogens as a stress on plants includes viruses, bacteria, and pathogenic fungi. The influence of herbivores is discussed with an emphasis on phytophagous insects. The interaction of plants with each other is discussed in chapters on allelopathy, competition, and vascular plant parasites. The two chapters (Chapters 11 and 12) included in Section (III) concern stresses induced by human populations. These anthropogenic stresses are divided into soil-related problems (heavy metals and pesticides) and atmospheric stressors (air pollutants and elevated CO2 levels).
Chapter 13 entitled "Generalities, Trends, and Future Directions" is the only chapter included in Section (IV), Conclusion. This chapter is an overall summary of the book with the future perspectives that summarizes the content of the book and facilitates comprehension of the presented information. Finally, Section (V) entitled "Appendices" contains "Symbols and Abbreviations," "Literature Cited," and "Glossary."
The addition of the In-Text Learning Aids at the end of each chapter is an excellent idea and very useful and beneficial to the readers. The authors have provided two main mechanisms of study assistance built into the text. First, the Study-Review Outline at the end of each chapter. This outline summarizes and rephrases the main concepts to reinforce learning. Second, the Self-Study Questions are provided mainly for the students. Supplementary reading materials are also listed at the end of each chapter. The Glossary included at the end of the book is very useful and helpful in refreshing the memories of the readers in definition of the desired terms. There are only a few very minor problems (some are only editorial) associated with this book that should be addressed when the volume is revised. One stands out. On page 517, Supplementary Readings, the most recent reference that the authors have included in this section is 1992. There are numerous recent references available for inclusion.
Overall, this volume in combination with the authors other volume on stress physiology will be a good addition to any library and for those in the areas of plant physiology, plant pathology, and ecophysiology.
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