Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses

The southwestern Australian flora is unique in the world, not only for its biodiversity and endemism, but also for its functional biodiversity. It also contains the world&;s most nutrient-impoverished soils, has a prolonged-summer period and the vegetation is extremely fire-prone.  These conditions have engendered an array of survival adaptations that have evolved in these harsh conditions across a diverse range of species. It is well recognised that the southwest flora has the toughest and most spiny vegetation of the world, the greatest number of species that store their seeds in woody fruits, and the most specialised means of obtaining limited soil nutrients and water. This book focuses on the survival mechanisms, adaptations and ecology of the unique Southwest Australian flora (restricted here to flowering plants).  The book begins with an examination of how the flora has evolved into the present forms.  It describes further in detail the adaptive responses of the flora to the main environmental pressures influencing survival - fire, summer drought, nutrient-impoverished soils, pollination and seed dispersal agents.  Specialised responses to obtain essential nutrients are presented in three chapters &; carnivorous plants, parasitic plants and specialised roots.  An entire chapter is devoted to leaves, with an insight into how leaves may assist in protecting flowers and fruits from herbivores and seed-eaters. The book provides an ecological perspective on how the flora has evolved complex strategies to ensure species survival in the relatively harsh seasonal climate of a Mediterranean-type ecosystem.

This beautifully-written book tells the story of Australia's giant eucalypt, the Mountain Ash, which grows in the region north and east of Melbourne. Visited seasonally by indigenous people and later a site of mining and sawmilling for settlers, as well as contested ground for conservationists, the life cycles and fire cycles of the forests span millennia. Tom Griffiths tells the environmental, ecological and social history of a unique Australian forest, and in doing so, tells the story of the continent as a whole.