Book excerpt: This book addresses the importance woody plants have in agriculture, forestry, and the environment and how various stresses affect their performance. It reviews physiological and molecular responses of woody plants to major environmental stresses and focuses on the mechanisms involved in imparting resistance to stress. Chapters cover basics of plant physiology including plant structure and plant growth, photosynthesis, respiration, plant growth regulation, abiotic and biotic plant stresses including drought, water logging, nutrient deficiency, salinity, chilling, freezing, heat, oxidative stress, and heavy metal toxicity.