Jörg S. Pfadenhauer was born in 1945 and studied biology, chemistry and geography in Munich. After some years of research stays in Switzerland (Zurich) and Brazil (Porto Alegre), he moved to the chair of vegetation ecology (now restoration ecology) at the School of Life Sciences at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). His main research topics are restoration ecology of mires and semi-natural grassland in central Europe, the ecology of southern Brazilian grassland and agrobiodiversity and conservation. Frank A. Klötzli was born in 1934 and studied biology in Zurich. He was a professor at the former Geobotanical Institute of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. His research was directed at problems concerning the limits and vitality of dominant plants in forests and grassland as well as the analysis of the effects of browsing, both in central European ecosystems as well as in Africa. He was also active in high mountain areas in different countries on Earth.

Christine von Gadow was born in 1975 in East London, South Africa. She studied arts and philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch, after having finished high school in Germany. In 1999 she moved back to Germany. Christine has worked on various translations in a number of academic fields. This is the most extensive book she has translated so far.

An up-to-date, modern, well-grounded, comprehensive and authoritative book, supplemented with many colour figures and graphs

Covers the extensive, recently published scientific findings, and lists more than 1.500 references

Focuses on chorological as well as ecological characteristics and processes of the vegetation of the world, which sets it apart from other textbooks

Specific issues such as the evolution of grasslands, the traits of leaf physiology, ecological coexistence, ecology of Aizoaceae, tropical-subtropical crops and much more are addressed

Chapter 1. Fundamentals towards Understanding Global Vegetation.- Chapter 2. Zonal Vegetation of the Tropical Zone with Year-Round Rain.- Chapter 3. Zonal Vegetation of the Tropical Zone with Summer Rain.- Chapter 4. Tropical Azonal Vegetation.- Chapter 5. Vegetation of the Tropical High Mountains.- Chapter 6. Zonal Vegetation of the Tropical-Subtropical Dry Zone.- Chapter 7. Zonal Vegetation of the Subtropical (Warm-Temperate) Zone with Year-Round Rain.- Chapter 8. Zonal Vegetation of the Subtropical (Warm-Temperate) Zone with Winter Rain.- Chapter 9. Temperate Azonal Vegetation.- Chapter 10. Vegetation of the Temperate High Mountains.- Chapter 11. Zonal Vegetation of the Humid Nemoral (Cool-Temperate) Zone.- Chapter 12. Zonal Vegetation of the Dry Nemoral (Cool-Temperate) Zone.- Chapter 13. Vegetation of the Boreal (Cold-Temperate) Zone.- Chapter 14. Vegetation of the Polar Zone.