Vegetation Ecology of Central EuropeEnglish translation makes this unique book, now in its fourth edition, available to a wider audience. This book is without doubt the most important work ever published about the vegetation of central Europe and its ecology. No other book contains so much ecological information and discusses so many principles relevant not only to plant ecologists in continental Europe, but to ecologists and palaeoecologists in the British Isles and North America. Besides providing valuable syntheses of the major plant communities, Ellenberg details the ecology and environmental requirements of all the vegetation types and discusses the climatic tolerances and ecological physiology of many of the major species. The account is based upon a life time of thorough field work and experimental investigation. One of the major messages to be gleaned from the book concerns the long-lasting and considerable effects of human activity upon the vegetation, and the book therefore has much to teach about the impact of agriculture and industrial pollution and highlights the need to plan carefully for the conservation of our rich natural and semi-natural environment. |
Contents
Life forms and structural type of the Central | 11 |
From coppiced woods to modern forestry | 26 |
B Nearnatural woods and thickets | 43 |
Changes in the balance of tree species brought | 52 |
4 | 62 |
2 | 74 |
WoodrushBeech wood and other ecosystems | 135 |
1 | 191 |
2 | 349 |
Formations created and maintained largely | 467 |
and microclimates | 481 |
b Nival rock and scree communities 459 | 496 |
Dwarfshrub heaths and commons on strongly | 504 |
Natural treedeficient dwarfshrub heaths in | 510 |
b Moist sandy heaths and loamy heaths | 517 |
Heaths and Matgrass swards in | 524 |
6 | 219 |
Other nearnatural formations | 283 |
Duckweed | 293 |
g Largesedge swamps | 301 |
b Communities in running water and at | 307 |
Spring areas and adjacent swamps | 313 |
b Acidsoil Smallsedge fens | 320 |
Forestry plantations of Spruce and other | 532 |
f Effects of fertilising on the ground flora of forest | 539 |
3 | 560 |
meadows | 570 |
the species composition | 633 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acid soils Alder alliance alpine Alps arable areas belt Birch-Oak woods broadleaved calcareous Calluna Carex Caricetum Central Europe character species climate competition conifers continental cover deciduous dominant dunes dwarf shrubs ecological Ellenberg False Oatgrass favourable Festuca flood plain flora forest Galium germination grasses grassland grazing Grey Alder ground growing growth habitats heathland heaths herbaceous herbs humus indicators Jura layer less lichens lime limestone limestone Beech woods litter lowland manured mixed montane Moorgrass mosses mountains natural nitrogen nutrients Oak woods Oak-Hornbeam woods Oatgrass meadows oligotrophic pasture peat Phragmites Pine woods Pinus plant communities podsol raised bog Ranunculus relatively rendzina rich river rocks roots sand Scots Pine scree Sedge seeds shrubs slopes snow species composition Sphagnum stands subalpine subassociations surface Swabian Jura swamp sward sylvatica sylvestris temperature trees Tüxen valleys vegetation vulgaris weeds woodland woodland communities