Author : Colin G. Brown
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 46,42 MB
Release : 2020-02-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1788974050
This book unravels the complexities of the grassland systems of Mongolia and northern China, identifying the ways in which policies and incentives can be strengthened to improve grassland condition and herder livelihoods. Offering a comparative analysis of policies and incentives, chapters argue for a mix of incentives and associated policy measures to benefit both grassland conditions and herder lifestyles.
Author : Colin G. Brown
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 31,67 MB
Release : 2020
Category : Grasslands
ISBN : 9781788974042
This book unravels the complexities of the grassland systems of Mongolia and northern China, identifying the ways in which policies and incentives can be strengthened to improve grassland condition and herder livelihoods. Offering a comparative analysis of policies and incentives, chapters argue for a mix of incentives and associated policy measures to benefit both grassland conditions and herder lifestyles.
Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 231 pages
File Size : 44,16 MB
Release : 1992-02-01
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 030904684X
This volume describes one of the most extensive grassland ecosystems and the efforts of Chinese scientists to understand it. Leading Chinese scientists attribute the decline in China's grasslands to overgrazing and excessive cultivation of marginal areas and discuss measures to limit the damage. The book gives its view on the Chinese approach to the study of grasslands and the relevance of this activity in China to global scientific concerns.
Author : Marinus J.A. Werger
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 570 pages
File Size : 50,58 MB
Release : 2012-06-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 9400738862
Steppes form one of the largest biomes. Drastic changes in steppe ecology, land use and livelihoods came with the emergence, and again with the collapse, of communist states. Excessive ploughing and vast influx of people into the steppe zone led to a strong decline in nomadic pastoralism in the Soviet Union and China and in severely degraded steppe ecosystems. In Mongolia nomadic pastoralism persisted, but steppes degraded because of strongly increased livestock loads. After the Soviet collapse steppes regenerated on huge tracts of fallow land. Presently, new, restorative steppe land management schemes are applied. On top of all these changes come strong effects of climate change in the northern part of the steppe zone. This book gives an up-to-date overview of changes in ecology, climate and use of the entire Eurasian steppe area and their effects on livelihoods of steppe people. It integrates knowledge that so far was available only in a spectrum of locally used languages.
Author : Victor R. Squires
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 430 pages
File Size : 24,58 MB
Release : 2018-09-05
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1351652206
This book begins with a brief account of the extraordinary sequence of events that led to emergence of grasslands as major vegetation formations that now occupy some of the driest and hottest and the highest and coldest on earth as well as vast steppes and prairies in more temperate climes. It is the story of grasses successfully competing with forests and woodlands, aided and abetted by grazing herbivores and by humans and their use of fire as a tool. It is a story of adaptation to changing climates and the changing biophysical environments. A major focus of the book is the Palaearctic biogeographic realm that extends over some 45 million km2 and thus more than 1/3 of the terrestrial ice-free surface on Earth. It comprises extensive grasslands of different types and origin, which can be subdivided into (1) natural grasslands with (1a) steppes (climatogenic in dry climates), (1b) arctic-alpine grasslands (climatogenic in cold climates) and (1c) azonal and extrazonal grasslands (pedogenic and topogenic) as well as (2) secondary grasslands created and sustained by human activities, such as livestock grazing, mowing or burning. Grasslands of the Palaearctic do not only form a major basis for the agriculture of the region and thus its food supply, but are also crucial for other ecosystem services and host a supra proportional part of the realm’s plant and animal diversity. To reflect that suitability of grasslands for biodiversity strongly depends on their state, we apply the term High Nature Value grassland to those natural grasslands that are not degraded (in good state) and those secondary grasslands that are not intensified (semi-natural). The situation in a variety of countries where grasslands are evolving under the influence of global climate change is also considered. Case studies are presented on Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, India, China, South America, North America and Australia. The concluding chapter examines a set of themes arising from the chapters that make up the bulk of this book. The following provide a focus: recent history of grassland biomes – brief recap of current thinking and recent trends with special reference to dry grasslands in the Palearctic regions; the current status of grasslands and germplasm resources (biodiversity) – an overview; management systems that ensure sustainability; how to recover degraded grasslands; socio-economic issues and considerations in grassland management; the impacts of environmental problems in grasslands such as future climate change and intensification and the problems/prospects facing pastoralists and other grassland-based livestock producers.
Author : Williams, Timothy O.
Publisher : ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD)
Page : 544 pages
File Size : 13,37 MB
Release : 2004-01-01
Category : Agricultural systems
ISBN : 9789291461615
Author : William Honeychurch
Publisher : Springer
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 23,86 MB
Release : 2014-11-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 149391815X
This monograph uses the latest archaeological results from Mongolia and the surrounding areas of Inner Asia to propose a novel understanding of nomadic statehood, political economy, and the nature of interaction with ancient China. In contrast to the common view of the Eurasian steppe as a dependent periphery of Old World centers, this work views Inner Asia as a locus of enormous influence on neighboring civilizations, primarily through the development and transmission of diverse organizational models, technologies, and socio-political traditions. This work explores the spatial management of political relationships within the pastoral nomadic setting during the first millennium BCE and argues that a culture of mobility, horse-based transport, and long-distance networking promoted a unique variant of statehood. Although states of the eastern steppe were geographically large and hierarchical, these polities also relied on techniques of distributed authority, multiple centers, flexible structures, and ceremonialism to accommodate a largely mobile and dispersed populace. This expertise in “spatial politics” set the stage early on for the expansionistic success of later Asian empires under the Mongols and Manchus. Inner Asia and the Spatial Politics of Empire brings a distinctly anthropological treatment to the prehistory of Mongolia and is the first major work to explore key issues in the archaeology of eastern Eurasia using a comparative framework. The monograph adds significantly to anthropological theory on interaction between states and outlying regions, the emergence of secondary complexity, and the growth of imperial traditions. Based on this approach, the window of Inner Asian prehistory offers a novel opportunity to investigate the varied ways that complex societies grow and the processes articulating adjacent societies in networks of mutual transformation.
Author : Mark Brazil
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 547 pages
File Size : 32,26 MB
Release : 2014-09-25
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1472903560
Birds of East Asia – the definitive field guide to the birds of this slice of Asia – just got even better. This enhanced fixed-format version of the book – featuring songs and calls – is set to change birding, forever. Optimised for iPad, it features the book in crisp, clear high-resolution. Superb, fully zoomable colour plates of the highest detail lie opposite comprehensive identification text and accurate range maps. In addition, this e-book features songs, calls and other sounds from the birds species, placed conveniently next to the accompanying species text. The sounds included on this e-book represent more than 95% coverage of all species in the region. This epic collection of images and sounds represents a step change in the way birders operate. No more carrying heavy books into the field; no more trying to remember sounds days or weeks after the event, while all other methods for taking sounds into the field are consigned to the dustbin. This e-book provides a complete field-based ID solution – no birder will want to be without it.
Author : Susan Myers
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 42,56 MB
Release : 2016-06-07
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0691154856
This handy photographic guide offers a stunning look at the wildlife of Southeast Asia, which includes Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, West Malaysia, and Singapore. Accessible text and more than 500 color photographs help readers to learn about and identify the most common species found in the region, particularly the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects that visitors will most likely encounter. Detailed photos are accompanied on facing pages by succinct species accounts highlighting key identification features, status, and distribution. The book's brief introduction offers readers useful information on major wildlife sites as well as practical advice on making the most of a wildlife-watching trip. Wildlife of Southeast Asia is the essential resource for visitors and residents interested in the fauna of this fascinating area of the world. A photographic guide to the wildlife of Southeast Asia, including Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, West Malaysia, and Singapore More than 500 stunning color photographs Accessible species accounts highlight key identification features, status, and distribution A brief introduction discusses wildlife locations and practical travel know-how
Author : John A. Parrotta
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 1939 pages
File Size : 16,11 MB
Release : 2024-10-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 1040269915
South Asia, a region of outstanding biological diversity, is home to approximately 2.1 billion people whose rich cultural traditions include sophisticated knowledge of the properties and uses of thousands of native and introduced plant species. Plant-based drugs, integral to the traditional medical systems of India and neighboring countries, play a central role in health care throughout the region and beyond, as regional and global demand for therapeutically valuable plants continues to grow. However, the ongoing transformation and degradation of forests and other natural ecosystems in this region due to rapid environmental and socioeconomic changes, poses serious challenges for the conservation and sustainable utilization of its medicinal plant wealth. Efforts to conserve the region’s rich biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge require up-to-date information on the status and trends of these resources and their importance for health care and livelihoods. Healing Plants of South Asia: A Handbook of the Medicinal Flora of the Indian Subcontinent helps to address this need. The work’s introduction provides overviews of South Asia’s diverse systems of traditional medicine, as well as the region’s biogeography, ecosystem and plant species diversity and associated conservation challenges. Subsequent chapters focus on nearly 2,000 species of plants most commonly used in traditional medicine within the region. In chapters devoted to ferns and lycophytes (including 59 species), conifers (20 species) and flowering plants (1849 species), the information provided draws upon a wide variety of authoritative published sources as well as reliable online databases. Entries for each species include: currently accepted scientific names and common synonyms; vernacular names in the major regional languages; a complete botanical description; information on the species’ ecology and conservation status; traditional therapeutic uses in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Tibetan medicine, and more localized folk medical systems; and key references. The majority of these species are also beautifully illustrated with photos and/or botanical drawings. Healing Plants of South Asia: A Handbook of the Medicinal Flora of the Indian Subcontinent will be of value to students, scientists and professionals in a number of fields, including pharmacology, pharmaceutics, food chemistry and nutrition, natural products chemistry, ethnobotany and ethnomedicine. It should also appeal to conservationists, community development practitioners, industry, and policy makers, among a host of those involved in the world of medicinal plants and traditional medicine in South Asia.
