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Plant Abiotic Stress Edited by M.A. Jenks and P.M. Hasegawa, Blackwell Publishing, 2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014-8300. 2005. 270 p. $199.99 hardcover. ISBN 1405122382.
It has been estimated that up to 82% of potential yield of annual crops is lost due to abiotic stress every year, and the amount of available, productive arable land continues to decrease worldwide, forcing agriculture to areas where the potential for abiotic stress is even greater. These two observations, provided by the editors in the preface of Plant Abiotic Stress, provide persuasive arguments for extensive study of plants' response to abiotic stress. Through the course of the nine chapters of this book, the 38 contributors provide a thorough and in-depth review of abiotic stress factors plants may endure, both naturally occurring and man-made, and the mechanisms a plant may employ in response.
Beginning with the fundamental need that a plant has for water, the first chapter provides a broad overview...