Allelochemicals play a great role in managed and natural ecosystems.
Apart from plant growth, allelochemicals also may influence nutrient
dynamics, mycorrhizae, soil chemical characteristics, and microbial
ecology. Synergistic action of various factors may better explain plant
growth and distribution in natural systems. The book emphasizes the role
of allelochemicals in shaping the structure of plant communities in a
broader ecological perspective.
The book addresses the following questions: (1) How do allelochemicals
influence different components of the ecosystem in terms of shaping
community structure? (2) Why is it difficult to demonstrate interference
by allelochemicals (i.e., allelopathy) in a natural system in its
entirety? Despite a large amount of existing literature on allelopathy,
why are ecologists still skeptical about the existence of allelopathy in
nature? (3) Why are there only scarce data on aquatic ecosystems? (4)
What role do allelochemicals play in microbial ecology?.....