Biology of Populus and its implications for management and conservation

Poplar is increasingly recognized as an excellent model tree for the study of tree growth and its underlying physiology and genetics. By studying trees of the genus Populus (poplars, cottonwoods, aspens), which in their native ecosystems play a major role in the re-colonization of sites after disturbances, new insights have been gained into plantation culture and the development of improved cultivars. Of the 20 chapters in this publication, authored by an international group of researchers, one section deals with systematics, genetics, genetic manipulation and biotic interactions of Populus, while the other deals with stress response and the physiology of growth and productivity.