Over the last decade, the field of plant ecology has significantly developed and expanded, especially in research concerning the herbaceous layer and ground vegetation of forests. This revised second edition of The Herbaceous Layer in Forests of Eastern North America accounts for that growth, presenting research that approaches the ecology of the herb layer of forests from a variety of disciplines, perspectives, and levels of ecological organization. The book synthesizes the research of top ecologists on herbaceous layer structure, composition, and dynamics of a variety of forest ecosystem types in eastern North America.

The 2003 first edition of The Herbaceous Layer in Forests of Eastern North America was praised for containing the most extensive listing of herb-layer literature in existence. This second edition brings this material up to date, revised to include current research, data, and concepts. The book incorporates quantitative data to support analyses that were previously unavailable during the publication of the first edition. Also featured are eight entirely new chapters, with six of these focused on the response of the herbaceous layer to a wide variety of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Building on the over 1,200 references and sources of the first edition, the second edition of The Herbaceous Layer in Forests of Eastern North America, with well over 2,500 references, is an invaluable resource for plant ecologists, forest ecologists, conservationists, and forest managers.