Includes bibliographical references at chapter ends, and index. Based on a series of conferences held in 1988 and 1989.

This volume is the result of a series of discussions about the response and future distribution of vegetation under a changed climate and increased atmospheric COb2s. These discussions were held under the auspices of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria. As the ecologists associated with IIASA are collectively known for their modelling expertise, it is no surprise that many of the chapters in this book are concerned with various aspects of modelling the response of vegetation to global climate change. This book is valuable even if readers do not use models as a research tool, because: (1) these models integrate current knowledge, so the questions raised by the authors are important areas for more research; and (2) these models will eventually be used to set governmental policies mitigating global change. Vegetation Dynamics & Global Change is not a comprehensive treatise on all aspects of vegetation response to global climate change and increased atmospheric COb2s. Forest vegetation is emphasized. One of this book's strengths is that it does not attempt to cover all aspects of global change. By concentrating on the overall theme of distribution and transient responses, the present book makes a significant contribution to the literature.