The plant fossil record provides evidence that the genus Metasequoia was
widely distributed and experienced a wide range of climatic and
environmental conditions throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the
early Late Cretaceous to the Plio-Pleistocene. Today the genus is
limited to one species with approximately 5,000 mature individuals
growing in the Xiahoe Valley in southeastern China. This book is a
distillation of the collective efforts and results of the world's
Metasequoia specialists and enthusiasts. It is the most up-to-date and
comprehensive reference source for the genus and the authors have sought
to incorporate obscure, hard-to-get and non-English reference sources.
The book reviews what is known about the biology, ecology and physiology
of fossil and living Metasequoia, current research directions and
problems that remain unresolved.
This book presents a definitive overview of fossil and living
Metasequoia and was written by sixteen of the world's experts on this
important genus. Given the reality of increasing human pressure and the
inevitability of global change, efforts to conserve this ancient genus
are underway. This book will be of interest to botanists, geologists,
paleobotanists, biogeographers, foresters, ecologists, paleoecologists,
ecophysiologists, geochemists, climate modelers, geneticists,
naturalists, science historians, and gardeners and will be useful as a
supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses
in paleoecology.
