Introduction

Abstract

The main object of this book is to provide standardized Autecological Accounts of the biology and ecology of common vascular plants of the British flora. The structure and content of each Account, and in particular the balance between data presentation and interpretation, has been strongly influenced by our concern to meet the specific requirements of academic research, vegetation management and nature conservation. Consequently, the book contains a rather lengthy section (Chapter 4) which describes in some detail the various ways in which the Accounts may be used in efforts either to understand the ecology of species or to manipulate their distribution and abundance.