Seeds

Over 50 years’ experience in seed germination ecology, biogeography, and evolution of seed dormancy and germination. Dr Baskin has a Ph.D. in biology from Vanderbilt University and has held several teaching posts in the fields of agricultural sciences and biology in the US and Europe. Dr Baskin’s current research at the University of Kentucky focuses on the life cycle and germination ecology of woody and herbaceous species of angiosperms; biology, conservation, and geographical ecology of plant taxa endemic to cedar (limestone) glades of unglaciated eastern United States; and plant geography of Kentucky. She has written several publications on the subject of seed germination, most notably Seeds: Ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy (Elsevier), in collaboration with her husband Dr Jerry M. Baskin. Dr Baskin received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in June 1967 and after 1 year of postdoctoral work at the University of Florida joined the University of Kentucky (UK) Biology faculty in 1968. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1981and retired from UK in June 2011. Almost all of his publications are co-authored with Carol C. Baskin. He has approximately 520 journal articles plus 14 book chapters and 10 publications in symposium and conference proceedings. The first edition of “Seeds” was published in 1998 and the second edition in 2014. The book on rock outcrops and barrens (co-edited with J. Fralish and R. Anderson) was published in 1999.

• Introduction.Ecologically Meaningful Germination Studies.Types of Seed Dormancy.Germination Ecology of Seeds with Nondeep Physiological Dormancy.Germination Ecology of Seeds with Morphophysiological Dormancy.Germination Ecology of Seeds with Physical Dormancy.Germination Ecology of Seeds in the Persistent Seed Bank.Causes of Within-Species Variations in Seed Dormancy and Germination Characteristics.A Geographical Perspective on Germination Ecology: Tropical and Subtropical Zones.A Geographical Perspective on Germination Ecology: Temperate and Arctic Zones. Germination Ecology of Plants with Specialized Life Cycles and/or Habitats. Biogeographical and Evolutionary Aspects of Seed Dormancy.Subject Index.

"The book is even now an important reference source and may be recommended to anyone interested in any aspect of seed biology." --P. Mráz for THIAZIA JOURNAL OF BOTANY (2002)"...this is a monumental overview that deserves to be readily available to all plant physiologists, seed ecologists, the staff of seed testing laboratories and forestry nurseries, seed conservationists—in fact anyone directly working on, or teaching about, the germination of seeds. ...this volume is set to be the first point of reference for seed germination and dormancy studies for many years." --Hugh W. Pritchard in ANNALS OF BOTANY (2000)"Baskin and Baskin have achieved a remarkable synthesis of the literature on seed dormancy and its impact on germination ecology. ...represents the culmination of decades of scholarly research, and the reader reaps the benefit in one volume. For those involved in plant ecology in any one of the ecosystems described, the coverage is excellent." --Alistair J. Murdoch, University of Reading, U.K., in CROP SCIENCE (2000)"This book is a grand, highly readable treatise..." --Ray Stross in HYDROBIOLOGIA (2000)"This book represents a very substantial contribution to scholarship and is likely to become a long-lived classic publication. ...I have no hesitation in recommending this book to all interested in plant ecology. There is no doubt in my mind that this book will prove to be a substantial contribution to the study of seed ecology, and I congratulate the authors on the completion of what can only be described as a singularly comprehensive account." —Richard Ellis in AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY (2000)"After finishing the book, I feel a little overwhelmed with all the material and the effort it took to bring it all together in such an organized and comprehensive manner. The content alone is valuable, especially for researchers... [Baskins] have brought together in one place an "impressive" collection and summary of information, provided methodologies, and used the insight of their collective experience to critically review methods and conclusions and to suggest directions for future work. ...For anyone interested in any aspect of seed germination, this is the place to start." —V. Thomas Parker, San Francisco State University, in ECOLOGY (September 1999)"Over the last three decades, the authors' names have become synonymous with detailed studies of seed germination and dormancy. Seeds stands out among the numerous volumes on germination because it is satisfyingly pervaded by the Baskins' understanding that, like any other trait, seed dormancy evolves. ...should be on the bookshelf of any ecologist, evolutionist, or theoretician who needs to know how seeds can be coaxed to get on with the rest of their life." —Susan J. Mazer in SCIENCE (January 1999)"This book is an all-encompassing volume that provides a working hypothesis of the ecological and environmental conditions under which various kinds of seed dormancy have developed." —WEED TECHNOLOGY (1999)"It is not often that a text may be viewed as a source book for an entire subject. Yet with ten years in the making and having been written by two of the foremost seed ecologists of recent years that is exactly what this is. The book contains an exhaustive coverage of the subject and will undoubtedly become the fundamental reference on seed ecology for many years to come. ...This is a massive text that is accurate, wide-ranging and complete; it highlights both what is known and what still requires investigation. It is a book that should be found in every scientific library and in the personal collections of anyone interested in the, often under-appreciated, importance of seeds in ecology." --Tim Pearson, University of Aberdeen, U.K., in JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY (1999)