The Ecology of areas with serpentinized rocks : a world view

Strictly taken, the term ‘ serpentine’ has to be used for the three minerals ‘ lizardite’ , ‘ chrysotile’ , and ‘ antigorite’ ; all of them are magnesium silicates. However, serpentine is often used more loosely. As with other ecologically broad terms, such as ‘ acidic’ or ‘ calcareous’ soils, serpen- tinized substrates are not uniform chemically. Secondary mineral- ization of these ultramafic (ultrabasic) substrates with nickel, chromium, and cobalt has given rise to a range of edaphic components, which can affect plant growth adversely. This book clearly demon- strates that the progress in under- standing some of the ‘ serpentine factors” is still slight. The relation between plant growth and serpentinized substrata has received growing interest, mostly due to an unusual flora with endemic or at least suggested endemic plant populations and species. The editors of this book have tried to give a nearly full account of the various serpentine areas of the world by selecting specialists of different geo- graphic regions to report on soil chemistry, vegetation and concen- tration of mineral elements in plants. Common factors which may be of high evolutionary potential are the surplus of magnesium over calcium in the soil, resulting in an Mg