The Geobiology and Ecology of Metasequoia (Topics in Geobiology Book 22)

The plant fossil record provides evidence that the genus Metasequoia was widely distributed and experienced a wide range of climatic and environmental conditions throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the early Late Cretaceous to the Plio-Pleistocene. Today the genus is limited to one species with approximately 5,000 mature individuals growing in the Xiahoe Valley in southeastern China. This book is a distillation of the collective efforts and results of the world’s Metasequoia specialists and enthusiasts. It is the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference source for the genus and the authors have sought to incorporate obscure, hard-to-get and non-English reference sources. The book reviews what is known about the biology, ecology and physiology of fossil and living Metasequoia, current research directions and problems that remain unresolved. This book presents a definitive overview of fossil and living Metasequoia and was written by sixteen of the world’s experts on this important genus. Given the reality of increasing human pressure and the inevitability of global change, efforts to conserve this ancient genus are underway. This book will be of interest to botanists, geologists, paleobotanists, biogeographers, foresters, ecologists, paleoecologists, ecophysiologists, geochemists, climate modelers, geneticists, naturalists, science historians, and gardeners and will be useful as a supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses in paleoecology. The evolution and biogeographic history of Metasequoia / Ben A. LePage, Hong Yang and Midori Matsumoto Paleoecology and history of Metasequoia in Japan, with reference to its extinction and survival in East Asia / Arata Momohara A high-resolution palynological analysis, Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic / Suzanna L. Richter and Ben A. LePage Metasequoia in the Oligocene Bridge Creek flora of western North America : ecological implications and the history of research / Herbert W. Meyer Gunther's travels : the odyssey of Metasequoia seeds from the 1920s? / Judy Barrett Litoff Cuticle analysis of living and fossil Metasequoia / Qin Leng Ultrastructural preservation in middle Eocene Metasequoia leaf tissues from the Buchanan Lake Formation / Karimah Schoenhut Biomolecules from living and fossil Metasequoia : biological and geological applications / Hong Yang Ecological characteristics of Metasequoia glyptostroboides / Christopher J. Williams Physiological ecology of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng / David R. Vann Competitive advantages of Metasequoia in warm high latitudes / Richard Jagels and Maria A. Equiza Selecting and propagating new cultivars of Metasequoia / John Kuser Cultivars of Metasequoia glyptostroboides / Christophe Nugue A conservation plan for Metasequoia in China / Gaytha A. Langlois. "This book presents a definitive overview of fossil and living Metasequoia and was written by sixteen of the world's experts on this important genus. Given the reality of increasing human pressure and the inevitability of global change, efforts to conserve this ancient genus are underway. This book will be of interest to botanists, geologists, paleobotanists, biogeographers, foresters, ecologists, paleoecologists, ecophysiologists, geochemists, climate modelers, geneticists, naturalists, science historians, and gardeners and will be useful as a supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses in paleoecology."--Jacket The plant fossil record indicates that the genus Metasequoia was widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the early Late Cretaceous to the Plio-Pleistocene. Today the genus has shrunk to one species with approximately 5,000 mature individuals in southeastern China’s Xiahoe Valley. This book distills the current understanding of the biology, ecology and physiology of fossil and living Metasequoia, current research directions and problems that remain unresolved.