本书是美国著名植物学家、生态学先驱Henry Chandler Cowles的博士论文的第一部分，书中的研究促进了植物演替和顶极群落形成概念的提出，影响广泛，是生态学奠基作品之一。本书主要内容为美国印第安纳州西北部密歇根湖的沙丘植被研究，主要讨论植物的形成、种类特征和分布规律，进而阐明植物发生的渐进变化以及导致这种变化的环境因素，即植物对沙丘环境的适应性及其表现出来的可塑性，并且发现了在不同条件下广泛分布的物种。
本书适合植物学、生物学、生态学等相关学科的专业人员与感兴趣的公众阅读与参考。
- 前辅文
- I. Introduction.
- II. General features of the coast of Lake Michigan.
- III. The ecological factors.
- LIGHT AND HEAT.
- WIND.
- SOIL.
- WATER.
- OTHER FACTORS.
- IV. The plant societies.
- A. THE BEACH.
- 1. The lower beach.
- 2. The middle beach.
- 3. The upper beach.
- 4. Fossil beaches.
- B. THE EMBRYONIC OR STATIONARY BEACH DUNES.
- 1. Dunes of rapid growth (primary embryonic dunes).
- 2. Dunes of slow growth (secondary embryonic dunes).
- C. THE ACTIVE OR WANDERING DUNES. THE DUNECOMPLEX.
- 1. Transformation of stationary into wandering dunes.
- 2. Physical and biological features of the dune-complex.
- 3. Encroachment on preexisting plant societies.
- 4. Capture of the dune-complex by vegetation.
- D. THE ESTABLISHED DUNES.
- 1. The basswood-maple series.
- 2. The evergreen series.
- 3. The oak dunes.
- V. Conclusion.
- VI. Previous studies of sand dune floras.
- BIBLIOGRAPHY.
