The author discusses the ways in which higher plants respond to natural light environments throughout their life cycles. While previous texts on the subject have used the various light responses simply as a means of illustrating the molecular interaction between photoreceptors and cell metabolism, in this book the ways in which the plant detects, interprets and responds to the natural light environment are fully discussed. It takes a holistic rather than a mechanistic approach concerning the influence of natural light environments on plant growth and development, as well as discussing the recent research in the rapidly developing field. The emphasis is placed on the ecological implications of studies in plant physiology and biochemistry.