Over 7 billion people depend on plants for healthy, productive, secure
lives, but few of us stop to consider the origin of the plant kingdom
that turned the world green and made our lives possible. And as the
human population continues to escalate, our survival depends on how we
treat the plant kingdom and the soils that sustain it. Understanding
the evolutionary history of our land floras, the story of how plant life
emerged from water and conquered the continentsto dominate the planet,
is fundamental to our own existence.
In Making Eden David
Beerling reveals the hidden history of Earth's sun-shot greenery, and
considers its future prospects as we farm the planet to feed the world.
Describing the early plant pioneers and their close, symbiotic
relationship with fungi, he examines the central role plants play in
both ecosystems and the regulation of climate. As threats to plant
biodiversity mount today, Beerling discusses the resultant implications
for food security and climate change, and how thesecan be avoided.
Drawing on the latest exciting scientific findings, including
Beerling's own field work in the UK, North America, and New Zealand, and
his experimental research programmes over the past decade, this is an
exciting new take on how plants greened the continents.
- Hardback
- 272 pages, 30 black and white images
Making Eden : How Plants Transformed a Barren Planet - David Beerling
- Product Code:New
- Availability:In Stock
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£17.99