On positive embeddings of C(K) spaces

We investigate isomorphic embeddings $T:C(K)\to C(L)$ between Banach spaces of continuous functions. We show that if such an embedding $T$ is a positive operator then $K$ is an image of $L$ under a upper semicontinuous set-function having finite values. Moreover we show that $K$ has a $\pi$-base of sets which closures a continuous images of compact subspaces of $L$. Our results imply in particular that if $C(K)$ can be positively embedded into $C(L)$ then some topological properties of $L$, such as countable tightness of Frechetness, pass to the space $K$. We show that some arbitrary isomorphic embeddings $C(K)\to C(L)$ can be, in a sense, reduced to positive embeddings.