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The Tree Habit in Land Plants

A Functional Comparison of Trunk Constructions with a Brief Introduction into the Biomechanics of Trees

  • Book
  • © 1990

Overview

Authors:
  1. Volker Mosbrugger
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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences (LNEARTH, volume 28)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

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  2. Introduction

    Pages 1-3

  3. Historical Remarks

    Pages 4-6

  4. Trees as Living Systems

    Pages 7-48

  5. Constructional Principles of Tree Trunks

    Pages 49-118

  6. General Discussion

    Pages 119-133

  7. Summary

    Pages 134-136

  8. Back Matter

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Keywords

About this book

The present study will help answer questions of tree type evolution, function, optimum, and tree construction types, using the approach of constructional morphology which to date has been widely neglected in palaeobotany and botany. First, the evolution pattern of the earliest Devonian trees is analyzed and explained, including a brief introduction of tree biomechanics. Then fossil and recent trees are studied from the viewpoint of constructional morphology with the main emphasis on the trunk as the most characteristic element of a tree. The various trunk constructions are classified into functional construction types, which are described and analyzed with respect to their biomechanical and biological properties. This functional comparison shows that the basic trunk constructions all appear in the Devonian, have specific advantages and disadvantages and constrain the possible growth habit of a tree. This study based on modern and fossil trees not only leads to a description but also to a causal understanding of the evolution and biology of the various tree types.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Tree Habit in Land Plants

  • Book Subtitle: A Functional Comparison of Trunk Constructions with a Brief Introduction into the Biomechanics of Trees

  • Authors: Volker Mosbrugger

  • Series Title: Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0011397

  • Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1990

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-540-52374-1Published: 21 March 1990

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-540-46974-2Published: 23 November 2005

  • Series ISSN: 0930-0317

  • Series E-ISSN: 1613-2580

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: V, 161

  • Number of Illustrations: 17 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Geology, Plant Sciences, Agriculture, Forestry

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