Plants are sessile, highly sensitive organisms that actively compete for environmental resources both above and below the ground. They assess their surroundings, estimate how much energy they need for particular goals, and then realise the optimum variant. They take measures to control certain environmental resources. They perceive themselves and can distinguish between 'self' and 'non-self'. They process and evaluate information and then modify their behaviour accordingly. These highly diverse competences are made possible by parallel sign(alling)-mediated communication processes within the plant body (intraorganismic), between the same, related and different species (interorganismic), and between plants and non-plant organisms (transorganismic). Intraorganismic communication involves sign-mediated interactions within cells (intracellular) and between cells (intercellular). This is crucial in coordinating growth and development, shape and dynamics. Such communication must function both on the local level and between widely separated plant parts. This allows plants to coordinate appropriate response behaviours in a differentiated manner, depending on their current developmental status and physiological influences. Lastly, this volume documents how plant ecosphere inhabitants communicate with each other to coordinate their behavioural patterns, as well as the role of viruses in these highly dynamic interactional networks.

From the contents:<br />Keylevels of Biocommunication in Plants

Information and Communication in Higher Plants
Plant Hormones and Metabolites as Universal Vocabulary in Pathogen Defense Signaling
Gravity Sensing/Interpretation and Response Behavior
Wound Response to Mechanical Damage
Transport and Signaling via the Phloem
Intercellular Communication During Floral Development
Cell Wall Signaling
Plant Root Signaling Between Same, Related and Non-related Plant Roots
PCD and Plant Life Cycle
Herbivore- and Pathogen-derived Signals that Induce or Suppress direct and Indirect Defenses in Plants
Nematode-Plant Communication and Rhizobial-Plant Communication
Plant Virus Operations Control Centers
Plant-Microbe Interactions
Recent Trends on the Olfactory Responses of Insect Natural Enemies to Plant Volatiles
Plant Defense Against Insect Herbivore Attack
Volatiles Mediating Information Between Bacteria and Plants
Infection of Plants by the Human Pathogen Salmonella typhimurium
Co-adaptationary Aspects of the Underground Communication Between Plants and Other Organisms
Mutual Communication of Plants, Animals, Fungi and Bacteria.