COSAM News Articles 2014 November Boyd co-editor of recently published 'Plant Ecology and Evolution in Harsh Environments'

Boyd co-editor of recently published 'Plant Ecology and Evolution in Harsh Environments'

Published: 11/17/2014

Professor Robert Boyd of the Department of Biological Sciences is co-editor of a new book that was recently published, “Plant Ecology and Evolution in Harsh Environments.” The book provides updated coverage on how plants respond to stressful environments and includes chapters on challenges such as climate change and how plants can be used to clean up pollutants. The 426-page book is for botanists and ecologists who are studying how plants evolve and adapt to stress, and provides some full-color photographs and illustrations, as well as the most up-to-date field research. In total, the book has 16 chapters with 46 contributing authors and was written primarily by teams of international experts.

In addition to serving as co-editor, Boyd co-wrote a chapter, and he also wrote a chapter in the book which focuses on hyperaccumulator plants.

“These plants often grow in high-metal soils, and unlike most plants, they take up and store large amounts of metals in their tissues. My students and colleagues and I have been studying how this trait helps them resist disease and herbivores, as well as how it impacts the movement of metals through food chains in these habitats,” said Boyd. “The chapter is an overview of the ecology and evolution of these plants and how hyperaccumulation adapts them to these stressful high-metal soils.”

For more information on the book or to order a copy, go the Amazon listing.