Coupled with biomechanical data, organic geochemistry and cladistic analyses utilizing abundant genetic data, scientific studies are revealing new facets of how plants have evolved over time. This collection of papers examines these early stages of plant physiology evolution by describing the initial physiological adaptations necessary for survival as upright structures in a dry, terrestrial environment. The Evolution of Plant Physiology also encompasses physiology in its broadest sense to include biochemistry, histology, mechanics, development, growth, reproduction and with an emphasis on the interplay between physiology, development and plant evolution. Contributions from leading neo- and palaeo-botanists from the Linnean Society. Focus on how evolution shaped photosynthesis, respiration, reproduction and metabolism. Coverage of the effects of specific evolutionary forces -- variations in water and nutrient availability, grazing pressure, and other environmental variables.

Based on " ... 'The Evolution of Plant Physiology' ... the 2001 meeting of the Linnean Society of London Palaeobotany Specialist Group."--Page 4 of cover.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I: The Origins of Plant Physiology -- Turning the land green: inferring photosynthetic physiology and diffusive limitations in early bryophytes -- Physiological evolution of lower embryophytes: adaptations to the terrestrial environment -- Origin, function and development of the spore wall in early land plants -- Part II: Evolution of Plant Physiology from the Molecular Level --The evolution of plant biochemistry and the implications for physiology -- Did auxin play a crucial role in the evolution of novel body plans during the Late Silurian-Early Devonian radiation of land plants? -- Aquaporins: structure, function and phylogenetic analysis -- Evolutionary origin of the ethylene biosynthesis pathway in angiosperms -- Early land plant adaptations to terrestrial stress: A focus on phenolics -- Plant cuticles: Multifunctional interfaces between plant and environment -- Part III: Evolution of Anatomical Physiology -- Falling atmospheric CO2--the key to megaphyll leaf origins -- Stomatal function and physiology -- The photosynthesis-transpiration compromise and other aspects of leaf morphology and leaf functioning within an evolutionary and ecological context of changes in CO2 and H2O availability -- Xylem hydraulics and angiosperm success: A test using broad-leafed species -- Evolution of xylem physiology -- Hydraulics and mechanics of plants: Novelty, innovation and evolution -- Becoming fruitful and diversifying: DNA sequence phylogenetics and reproductive physiology of land plants -- Evolution of angiosperm fruit and seed dispersal biology and ecophysiology: Morphological, anatomical and chemical evidence from fossils -- Part IV: Evolution of Environmental and Ecosystem Physiology -- The rise and fall of the Podocarpaceae in Australia--A physiological explanation -- The adaptive physiology of Metasequoia to eocene high-latitude environments -- Experimental evaluation of photosystem parameters and their role in the evolution of stand structure and deciduousness in response to palaeoclimate seasonality in Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Hu et Cheng) -- Adaptive ancientness of vascular plants to exploitation of low-nutrient substrates--a neobotanical overview -- The evolution of aluminium accumulation in angiosperms.

Print version record.

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