Introduction to California Soils and Plants

Introduction to California Soils and Plants PDF Author: Arthur R. Kruckeberg
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520936426
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
Carnivorous pitcher plants, pygmy conifers, and the Tiburon jewel flower, restricted to a small patch of serpentine soil on Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County, are just a few of California's many amazing endemic plants—species that are unique to particular locales. California boasts an abundance of endemic plants precisely because it also boasts the richest geologic diversity of any place in North America, perhaps in the world. In lively prose, Arthur Kruckeberg gives a geologic travelogue of California's unusual soils and land forms and their associated plants—including serpentines, carbonate rocks, salt marshes, salt flats, and vernal pools—demonstrating along the way how geology shapes plant life. Adding a fascinating chapter to the story of California's remarkable biodiversity, this accessible book also draws our attention to the pressing need for conservation of the state's many rare and fascinating plants and habitats. *148 outstanding, accurate photographs, more than 100 incolor, illustrate California's diverse flora *Covers a wide range of locations including the Channel Islands, the Central Valley, wetlands, bristlecone pine forests, and bogs and fens *Provides selected trip itineraries for viewing the state's geobotanical wonders *Includes information on human influences on the California landscape from the early Spanish explores through the gold rush and to the present

Introduction to California Soils and Plants

Introduction to California Soils and Plants PDF Author: Arthur R. Kruckeberg
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520936426
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book

Book Description
Carnivorous pitcher plants, pygmy conifers, and the Tiburon jewel flower, restricted to a small patch of serpentine soil on Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County, are just a few of California's many amazing endemic plants—species that are unique to particular locales. California boasts an abundance of endemic plants precisely because it also boasts the richest geologic diversity of any place in North America, perhaps in the world. In lively prose, Arthur Kruckeberg gives a geologic travelogue of California's unusual soils and land forms and their associated plants—including serpentines, carbonate rocks, salt marshes, salt flats, and vernal pools—demonstrating along the way how geology shapes plant life. Adding a fascinating chapter to the story of California's remarkable biodiversity, this accessible book also draws our attention to the pressing need for conservation of the state's many rare and fascinating plants and habitats. *148 outstanding, accurate photographs, more than 100 incolor, illustrate California's diverse flora *Covers a wide range of locations including the Channel Islands, the Central Valley, wetlands, bristlecone pine forests, and bogs and fens *Provides selected trip itineraries for viewing the state's geobotanical wonders *Includes information on human influences on the California landscape from the early Spanish explores through the gold rush and to the present

Introduction to California Soils and Plants

Introduction to California Soils and Plants PDF Author: Arthur R. Kruckeberg
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780520233713
Category : Plant-soil relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Having spent time in the field with Professor Kruckeberg, I can attest to his uncanny ability to locate a rare plant not by looking for the plant itself, but by having an almost empathetic sense of its preferred habitat. Now he shares his decades of natural history experience by taking us on a virtual tour of California's incredibly diverse flora, bringing life to the equally diverse geology underneath. For those who want to go beyond knowing plant communities to understanding them, Art Kruckeberg's latest book is essential."--Toby Bradshaw, Washington Research Foundation Professor of Basic Biological Science, University of Washington "Best known for his comprehensive lifetime's work on serpentine plants, Arthur Kruckeberg here addresses how all of what he lovingly calls "kooky soils"--serpentine, gabbro, carbonates, volcanics, vernal pools and others--have shaped California's outstandingly rich flora. In an eminently readable and enthusiastic style, he helps us to see the patterns of interconnectedness among rocks, landforms, soils, vegetation, and plant species. All California naturalists, from the amateur to the overspecialized professional scientist, will come away enriched by his remarkable perspective."--Susan Harrison, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis

Introduction to California Plant Life

Introduction to California Plant Life PDF Author: Robert Ornduff
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520936957
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
California’s unique plants range in size from the stately Coast Redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts and in age from the four-thousand year-old Bristlecone Pines to ephemeral annuals whose life span can be counted in weeks. Available at last in a thoroughly updated and revised edition, this popular book is the only concise overview of the state’s remarkable flora, its plant communities, and the environmental factors that shape them. * 188 color photographs illustrate plants and typical plant communities around the state * New chapters give expanded discussions of the evolution of the California landscape, recent changes in California's flora, and more * Introduces basic concepts of plant taxonomy and plant ecology through clear examples and covers topics such as soil, climate, and geography

Introduction to California Plant Life

Introduction to California Plant Life PDF Author: Robert Ornduff
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520237048
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
California's remarkably diverse plants range in size from the stately coast redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts. This is the only concise overview of the state's unique flora, its plant communities, and the environmental factors that shape them. 156 illustrations.

Introduction to the Geology of Southern California and Its Native Plants

Introduction to the Geology of Southern California and Its Native Plants PDF Author: Clarence A. Hall Jr.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520933265
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
With its active fault systems, complex landforms, and myriad natural habitats, southern California boasts a rich and dynamic geologic environment. This abundantly illustrated volume at last provides an up-to-date, authoritative, and accessible resource for students and general readers interested in southern California's geology and native plants. Covering an extensive area, north from San Diego to Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada and east to the Mojave and Colorado deserts, its unique, comprehensive approach brings together for the first time the basic principles of geology, the story of plate tectonics, in-depth discussion of the geology of many specific locales within the region, and information on identifying southern California's native plants.

Introduction to Earth, Soil, and Land in California

Introduction to Earth, Soil, and Land in California PDF Author: David Carle
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520947320
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Following his acclaimed guides to air, fire, and water, David Carle now offers a fascinating exploration of one more primary element of the natural world—the land beneath our feet. From earthworms and earthquakes to Earth Day, this concise, engaging guide is a multifaceted primer on the literal foundation of California’s environment. Carle tells how soil ecosystems function, discusses what lives in the soil, and examines various soil types. He then turns to the relationship between humans and the land, and investigates the various uses and abuses that land in California endures: large scale agriculture, mining, and development, as well as fires, floods, and erosion. The guide also details the history of land use in the state, making it an essential resource for understanding our total reliance on soil, the marvelous substrate that is the basis of life. • Covers the entire state, including California’s wildlands, farmland, cities, and landfills • Assesses California’s ecological footprint on planet Earth • Discusses many different life forms found in soil, including bacteria, fungi, insects, and mammals • Features 92 color photographs and 18 maps A book in the Californians and Their Environment subseries, dedicated to understanding human influences on the state's ecology and natural resources

An Introduction to California Plant Life

An Introduction to California Plant Life PDF Author: Robert Ornduff
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520025837
Category : Botany
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
California's unique plants range in size from the stately Coast Redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts and in age from the four-thousand year. This book introduces basic concepts of plant taxonomy and plant ecology through clear examples and covers topics such as soil, climate, and geography.

California Serpentines

California Serpentines PDF Author: Arthur R. Kruckeberg
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520915725
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This is the first comprehensive treatment of an important segment of the flora of California: native plants that have varying degrees of fidelity to serpentine rock and soil that make up over 1100 square miles in the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada. Many of California's unique endemic plants are found nowhere else but on serpentine; over 200 species, subspecies, and varieties of native plants are restricted to some degree to serpentine. The author describes the geology, soils, and mineral nutrition of serpentines (low in normal essential nutrients, high in magnesium, iron, and toxic heavy metals, nickel, and chromium), the vegetation and flora that tolerate this inhospitable habitat, the fauna on serpentines, and management/conservation problems associated with serpentines. This is an essential guide to an important aspect of the flora of California.

Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California

Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California PDF Author: Philip W. Rundel
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520241991
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
Rundel introduces readers to the plant communities of the Southern California coastal areas and foothills, including color photos of 250 species and additional color habitat photos.

Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics

Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics PDF Author: Daniel Hillel
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 008049577X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 511

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Book Description
An abridged, student-oriented edition of Hillel's earlier published Environmental Soil Physics, Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is a more succinct elucidation of the physical principles and processes governing the behavior of soil and the vital role it plays in both natural and managed ecosystems. The textbook is self-contained and self-explanatory, with numerous illustrations and sample problems. Based on sound fundamental theory, the textbook leads to a practical consideration of soil as a living system in nature and illustrates the influences of human activity upon soil structure and function. Students, as well as other readers, will better understand the importance of soils and the pivotal possition they occupy with respect to careful and knowledgeable conservation. Written in an engaging and clear style, posing and resolving issues relevant to the terrestrial environment Explores the gamut of the interactions among the phases in the soil and the dynamic interconnection of the soil with the subterranean and atmospheric domains Reveals the salient ideas, approaches, and methods of environmental soil physics Includes numerous illustrative exercises, which are explicitly solved Designed to serve for classroom and laboratory instruction, for self-study, and for reference Oriented toward practical problems in ecology, field-scale hydrology, agronomy, and civil engineering Differs from earlier texts in its wider scope and holistic environmental conception