Bøger i Biogeographica serien

There are many works, written in several European languages, on general, animal, and more especially vegetational ecology, but the space devoted to the study and description of the various ecosystems - both terrestrial and aquatic - of Europe is very limited, and this even in the books of European workers. Indeed, today we are in the strange position that, while some extra-European continents or parts of continents such as South Africa, the west part of South American, Australia, the arid zones of the Old World, not to mention Antarctica (that recentlY has at­ tracted the attention of a great number of students) have been very thoroughly studied and illustrated - for European ecosystems we have very scant informa­ tion, if we make allowance for the many analytical works on single natural or artificial environments (generally belonging to Central or Northern Europe). We have a beautiful book on the animal ecology of Palestine (today comprising Israel plus Jordan) written in the mid-thirties by Bodenheimer. However, Palestine does not belong to Europe, although some of the ecological and geographical peculiar­ ities of the western part of the country do correspond very closely to those of Southern Europe.

Der Verfasser behandelt die Hauptaxiome der Lehre über die Vegetation, die ihre Kartierung und Einschätzung der dimensionalen Gesetzmässigkeiten der Pflanzen­ decke beinhaltet. Als Ausgangsaxiom wird folgendes anerkannt, dass die Pflanzengesellschaft ein offenes System nach L. van Bertallanffi darstellt. Damit lässt sich ihre dimensio­ nale und funktionelle Untersuchung vereinbaren. Als zweites Axiom dient die Darstellung über die Dimension der Vegetation. Es sind 4 Dimensionsarten zu unterscheiden: 1 - planetare , 2 - regionale, 3 - subre­ gionale, 4 - topologische. Es existieren als wichtige Grundsätze zwei in der Phytosphäre einwirkende Prinzipien: Homogenisierung und Differenzierung der Vegetation anzuerkennen. Damit ist die Einteilung der Pflanzengesellschaften in zwei Gruppen begründet: Phytozönomeren und Phytozönochoren. Der Darstellung über die Phytozönomeren liegt der Begriff vom gleichartigen natürlichen Vegetationsareal zu Grunde. Phytozönochoren sind ein Komplex von Phytozönomeren, die eine heterogene Integrität verschiedener Stufen (Mikrophy­ tozönochoren, Makrophytozönochoren, Distrikten, Bezirken, Regionen usw) bil­ den. Wichtig ist der Zusammenhang der beiden Existenzformen der Vegetation und ihre einheitliche Zweireihige Klassiflkation (Sotchava, 1972, 1978). Der nächste Grundsatz lautet: die Unterteilungen der Pflanzendecke bilden eine konsequente Hierarchie der Syntaxonen. Bei der Auffassung über die Hierar­ chie geht man von der Darstellung der Pflanzengesellschaft als System aus. Das hierarchische taxonometrische System der Phytozönosen ist nicht nur eine Rang­ tabelle, sondern auch eine Korrelation im Rahmen ihrer hierarchischen Aktivi­ tät.

The term 'dispersal centre' literally refers to the place from which a dispersal process started. However, it also implies the location of a centre of diversity, frequently even a recent one, as well as the location of a preservation centre or refuge during regressive phases in less remoted periods of earth's history, and that of a possible speciation centre. The latter may have been the place of differentia­ tion of subspecies, or species, provided that the isolation period has been suffi­ ciently long. The term deliberately brings the dynamics to prominence which is inherent in the process of dispersal. This dynamics is neither properly recognized when considering ranges 'whose recent structures more or less force us to consider them ,as static entities' (DE LATTIN 1967, p. 16)*, nor adequately taken into account by systematic typology. Yet, it is, in fact, the change that takes place in a range, which is of great significance in evolutionary genetics. In the case of range regressions which may lead to a diminution or rupture of the range pattern according to the pressure of the endogenous or exogenous triggering factors, subsequently arising distribution obstacles may result in a geographical isolation of partial populations or popula­ tion parts. Their sufficiently long spatial and reproductive isolation and the allele loss resulting from the change of the population size promote a divergent develop­ ment.

Although biological exploration in Surinam started about 300 years ago, a thorough account of the Surinam herpetofauna has not hitherto been publish ed.

Symposium on Behaviour and Ecology, Saarbrucken, FRG, 1979"

The Mexican Plateau, in its magnificent dimensions and material wealth, stood among the first and perhaps most alluring discoveries of European explorers.

Man's symbiosis with plants is the most fundamental material fact of human life on the earth. The study that follows is a geography of plant resources in an important Andean valley having great environmental diversity and a cultural con stant, in so far as a non-literate, Quechua-speaking peasantry dominates through out the zone.

The Mexican Plateau, in its magnificent dimensions and material wealth, stood among the first and perhaps most alluring discoveries of European explorers.