A Functional Biology of Crop Plants

1. Functional Biology and Plant Strategies.- A. Functional Biology.- B. The Requirements on Plants in Their Growth and Function.- C. The Abiotic Environment: Plant Autecology.- D. Adaptive Strategies.- E. Four Principles of Adaptive Strategies.- F. The Calculation of Energetic Costs and Benefits.- G. Toward a Quantification of Risk and Risk Management.- H. When and How Fast to Deploy Strategies.- I. Effectiveness and Limitations of Strategic Adaptations.- J. Additional Strategic Considerations for the Biotic Environment.- 2. Mineral Nutrition.- A. Essential Elements in the Ecosystem and Their Availability to Plants.- B. Four Types of Challenges.- C. Consequences of Nutritional Challenges.- D. Adaptive Responses, Their Costs and Benefits.- 3. Photosynthesis.- A. CO2, Photons, and Their Availability to the Plant.- B. Energy and Soil Resource Uses: Costs and Benefits.- C. Challenges.- D. Consequences of Challenges to Photosynthesis.- E. Adaptive Responses, Their Costs and Benefits.- 4. Water Relations.- A. Introduction.- B. Challenges.- C. Consequences of Challenges.- D. Adaptive Strategies, Their Costs and Benefits.- 5. Integrative Processes.- A. New Features in Long-Term Coordination of All Resource Uses.- B. Reproduction.- C. Germination.- D. Morphogenesis, Especially Photomorphogenesis.- E. Control of Biotic Interactions.- References.- Symbols.