Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 41 pages
File Size : 41,4 MB
Release : 2001-06-28
Category : Science
ISBN : 0309183359
The warming of the Earth has been the subject of intense debate and concern for many scientists, policy-makers, and citizens for at least the past decade. Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions, a new report by a committee of the National Research Council, characterizes the global warming trend over the last 100 years, and examines what may be in store for the 21st century and the extent to which warming may be attributable to human activity.
Author : William J. Mitsch
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 309 pages
File Size : 18,96 MB
Release : 2009-04-13
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 047028630X
New focused text introduces readers to wetland ecosystems and systems approaches to studying wetlands With its comprehensive coverage of wetland science, management, and restoration, Mitsch and Gosselink's Wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for more than two decades. Now, the coverage of specific wetland ecosystem types from earlier editions of this acclaimed work has been updated, revised, and supplemented with additional content in order to create this new text focusing exclusively on wetland ecosystems. This book now complements Wetlands, Fourth Edition. Following an introduction to ecosystems in general and wetland ecosystems in particular, Wetland Ecosystems examines the major types of wetlands found throughout the world: coastal wetlands, freshwater marshes and forested swamps, and peatlands. The final chapter reviews three fundamental systems approaches to studying wetlands: mesocosms, full-scale experimental ecosystems, and mathematical modeling. This new text features: Updated descriptions of the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biology of the main types of wetlands found in the world New content introducing general ecosystems, wetland ecosystems, whole ecosystem and mesocosm experiments with wetlands, and systems ecology and modeling A detailed description of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands A broad international scope, including many examples of wetlands located outside North America Two new coauthors offering new perspectives and additional insights into the latest ecosystem and modeling techniques An abundance of illustrations helps readers understand how different biological communities and the abiotic environment in wetland ecosystems interact and function. Tables and text boxes provide at-a-glance summaries of key information. Lastly, each chapter concludes with a list of recommended readings. This text has been designed as an introduction for students and professionals in wetland ecology and management, general ecology, environmental science, and natural resource management.
Author : Russell K. Monson
Publisher : Springer
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 24,29 MB
Release : 2014-10-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781461475002
In this book, plant biology is considered from the perspective of plants and their surrounding environment, including both biotic and abiotic interactions. The intended audience is undergraduate students in the middle or final phases of their programs of study. Topics are developed to provide a rudimentary understanding of how plant-environment interactions span multiple spatiotemporal scales, and how this rudimentary knowledge can be applied to understand the causes of ecosystem vulnerabilities in the face of global climate change and expansion of natural resource use by human societies. In all chapters connections are made from smaller to larger scales of ecological organization, providing a foundation for understanding plant ecology. Where relevant, environmental threats to ecological systems are identified and future research needs are discussed. As future generations take on the responsibility for managing ecosystem goods and services, one of the most effective resources that can be passed on is accumulated knowledge of how organisms, populations, species, communities and ecosystems function and interact across scales of organization. This book is intended to provide some of that knowledge, and hopefully provide those generations with the ability to avoid some of the catastrophic environmental mistakes that prior generations have made.
Author : Jeremy B. Jones
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 566 pages
File Size : 21,60 MB
Release : 2016-07-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 0124059198
Stream Ecosystems in a Changing Environment synthesizes the current understanding of stream ecosystem ecology, emphasizing nutrient cycling and carbon dynamics, and providing a forward-looking perspective regarding the response of stream ecosystems to environmental change. Each chapter includes a section focusing on anticipated and ongoing dynamics in stream ecosystems in a changing environment, along with hypotheses regarding controls on stream ecosystem functioning. The book, with its innovative sections, provides a bridge between papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and the findings of researchers in new areas of study. - Presents a forward-looking perspective regarding the response of stream ecosystems to environmental change - Provides a synthesis of the latest findings on stream ecosystems ecology in one concise volume - Includes thought exercises and discussion activities throughout, providing valuable tools for learning - Offers conceptual models and hypotheses to stimulate conversation and advance research
Author : Mark A. Sutton
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 665 pages
File Size : 19,90 MB
Release : 2011-04-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 1139501372
Presenting the first continental-scale assessment of reactive nitrogen in the environment, this book sets the related environmental problems in context by providing a multidisciplinary introduction to the nitrogen cycle processes. Issues of upscaling from farm plot and city to national and continental scales are addressed in detail with emphasis on opportunities for better management at local to global levels. The five key societal threats posed by reactive nitrogen are assessed, providing a framework for joined-up management of the nitrogen cycle in Europe, including the first cost-benefit analysis for different reactive nitrogen forms and future scenarios. Incorporating comprehensive maps, a handy technical synopsis and a summary for policy makers, this landmark volume is an essential reference for academic researchers across a wide range of disciplines, as well as stakeholders and policy makers. It is also a valuable tool in communicating the key environmental issues and future challenges to the wider public.
Author : Martin Kernan
Publisher : Wiley-Blackwell
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 43,76 MB
Release : 2010-09-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781405179133
This text examines the impact of climate change on freshwater ecosystems, past, present and future. It especially considers the interactions between climate change and other drivers of change including hydromorphological modification, nutrient loading, acid deposition and contamination by toxic substances using evidence from palaeolimnology, time-series analysis, space-for-time substitution, laboratory and field experiments and process modelling. The book evaluates these processes in relation to extreme events, seasonal changes in ecosystems, trends over decadal-scale time periods, mitigation strategies and ecosystem recovery. The book is also concerned with how aspects of hydrophysical, hydrochemical and ecological change can be used as early indicators of climate change in aquatic ecosystems and it addresses the implications of future climate change for freshwater ecosystem management at the catchment scale. This is an ideal book for the scientific research community, but is also accessible to Masters and senior undergraduate students.
Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 526 pages
File Size : 22,94 MB
Release : 2011-01-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 0309145880
Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.
Author : Manuel A.S. Graça
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 34,94 MB
Release : 2005-04-05
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9781402033483
The primary objective of this book is to provide students and laboratory instructors at universities and professional ecologists with a broad range of established methods to study plant litter decomposition. Detailed protocols for direct use in the field or laboratory are presented in an easy to follow step-by-step format. A short introduction to each protocol reviews the ecological significance and principles of the technique and points to key references.
Author : Therese M. Poland
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 455 pages
File Size : 26,40 MB
Release : 2021-02-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 3030453677
This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.
Author : Harold Mooney
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 1008 pages
File Size : 13,62 MB
Release : 2016-01-19
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0520278801
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.
