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Review

Author(s): Ken Thompson


Review by: Ken Thompson
Source: Journal of Ecology, Vol. 83, No. 6 (Dec., 1995), p. 1053
Published by: British Ecological Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2261186
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Journal of
Reviews
Ecology 1995,
83, 1053-1059

J.D. Bewley & M. Black (1995) we learn of 'a study of buried weed seed, scheduled to
Seeds: Physiology of Development and last 50 years, initiated in 1972', but the source (Egley
Germination. and Chandler 1978) is not cited. Having references
2nd edn. Pp. xv + 445. Plenum Press, New York. split up by chapter makes it hard to discover the
ISBN 0-306-44748-7. Price $ 39.50 (paperback). location of a- particular paper or author; there is a
subject index but no author index. Nevertheless, a
thorough search revealed none of mine. Another
Although this book does not say for whom it is writ- slight oddity is that titles of papers are not given, but
ten, my guess is that it would provide a good back- a brief note after each paper explains what it is about.
ground for anyone contemplating research work on This can be unintentionally amusing; the title of the
seed physiology. Certainly it is not written for ecol- chapter by Thijs Pons in Fenner's Seeds book (Fenner
ogists. Strictly, therefore, any criticisms of its eco- 1992) is not given, but the note says: seed responses
logical relevance are unfair, and readers of this review to light. The title of the chapter is: Seed responses to
should bear this in mind. light.
The great majority of the book is concerned with For a treatment of many of the topics in this book
seed development, germination, dormancy and mob- in a more ecological context, one would be better
ilization of stored food reserves. A relatively short advised to buy Fenner (1992). For the few occasions
chapter (43 pages) is concerned with more applied when some more undiluted physiology is required, get
aspects, and an even shorter one (19 pages) with the Bewley and Black out of the library. The price, for a
ecophysiology of germination. It is perhaps to this paperback, is ridiculous.
chapter that ecologists are most likely to turn. Despite KEN THOMPSON
being short, this chapter does provide a concise intro-
duction to the major topics likely to interest the seed
ecophysiologist: environmental control of seed ger-
mination by light quantity, quality and nitrate ions, References
the high irradiance reaction, seasonal cycles of dor-
mancy, germination inhibitors in seeds of desert Egley, G.H. & Chandler, J.M. (1978) Germination and
viability of weed seeds after 2.5 years in a 50 year buried
plants, geographical variation in temperature require-
seed study. Weed Science, 26, 230-239.
ments for germination. In some cases the authors are
Fenner, M. (1992) Seeds: the Ecology of Regeneration in
unaware of the ecological significance of some of the Plant Communities. CAB International, Wallingford.
effects they describe; for instance, the demonstration Pons, T.L. (1989) Breaking of seed dormancy by nitrate as
of nitrate sensitivity as a gap-detecting mechanism by a gap detection mechanism. Annals of Botany, 63, 139-143.

Pons (1989) is omitted.


Elsewhere, there are relatively few areas of direct
interest to ecologists. A short section on seed lon-
M.L. Bowles & C. Whelan (eds) (1994)
gevity deals mercilessly with the idea of ancient cereal
Restoration of Endangered Species.
grains again; I wonder when people will stop believing
Pp. xiii + 394. Cambridge University Press,
this myth? Chemical composition of seeds is tho-
Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-41836-1. Price ?35
roughly covered without any mention that different
(hardback).
storage compounds might have any ecological sig-
nificance. Phenols in seeds get a brief mention, but the
extensive literature on their possible role as antifungal Restoration ecology is a young but important branch
agents is not mentioned. Seed mineral nutrient con- of conservation biology concerned with the re-estab-
tent gets less than a page. The question 'how can we lishment or rehabilitation of damaged or lost popu-
explain recalcitrance?' is asked, but the explanation lations or species. A volume devoted entirely to this
(in as much as one exists) is purely physiological. topic is therefore most welcome. The book arose from
There are no citations in the text. This probably a symposium on the recovery and restoration of
improves flow and readability, but can be frustrating. endangered plants and animals held in Chicago, Illi-
For instance, a table records examples of seeds in nois in 1990, as a result of which there is a strong
which dormancy can be broken by light of particular North American bias with seventeen of the twenty
photoperiods (which was new to me), but without authors from the United States and the other three
attribution. There are 'useful literature references' at from Canada. The volume includes fourteen chapters
the end of each chapter, but I was unable to discover arranged under four different topic headings and at
the source of this particular information. Often, of the beginning of each topic a short overview is
1053 course, this is because the relevant source is not cited; included. The first topic, 'Conceptual Issues in res-

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