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Environmental Transformations: A Geography of the Anthropocene
By Mark Whitehead. 2014
From the depths of the oceans to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, the human impact on the environment is…
significant and undeniable. These forms of global and local environmental change collectively appear to signal the arrival of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. This is a geological era defined not by natural environmental fluctuations or meteorite impacts, but by collective actions of humanity. Environmental Transformations offers a concise and accessible introduction to the human practices and systems that sustain the Anthropocene. It combines accounts of the carbon cycle, global heat balances, entropy, hydrology, forest ecology and pedology, with theories of demography, war, industrial capitalism, urban development, state theory and behavioural psychology. This book charts the particular role of geography and geographers in studying environmental change and its human drivers. It provides a review of critical theories that can help to uncover the socio-economic and political factors that influence environmental change. It also explores key issues in contemporary environmental studies, such as resource use, water scarcity, climate change, industrial pollution and deforestation. These issues are 'mapped' through a series of geographical case studies to illustrate the particular value of geographical notions of space, place and scale, in uncovering the complex nature of environmental change in different socio-economic, political and cultural contexts. Finally, the book considers the different ways in which nations, communities and individuals around the world are adapting to environmental change in the twenty-first century. Particular attention is given throughout to the uneven geographical opportunities that different communities have to adapt to environmental change and to the questions of social justice this situation raises. This book encourages students to engage in the scientific uncertainties that surround the study of environmental change, while also discussing both pessimistic and more optimistic views on the ability of humanity to address the environmental challenges of our current era.Applied Ecology and Human Dimensions in Biological Conservation
By Luciano M. Verdade, Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge, Carlos I. Piña. 2014
This book provides both the conceptual basis and technological tools that are necessary to identify and solve problems related to…
biodiversity governance. The authors discuss intriguing evolutionary questions, which involve the sometimes surprising adaptive capacity of certain organisms to dwell in altered and/or changing environments that apparently lost most of their structure and functionality. Space and time heterogeneities are considered in order to understand the patterns of distribution and abundance of species and the various processes that mold them. The book also discusses at which level--from genes to the landscape, including individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems--men should intervene in nature in order to prevent the loss of biodiversity.Advances in Applied Bioremediation (Soil Biology #17)
By Ajay Singh, Ramesh C. Kuhad, Owen P. Ward. 2009
Bioremediation is a rapidly advancing field and the technology has been applied successfully to remediate many contaminated sites. The goal…
of every soil remediation method is to enhance the degradation, transformation, or detoxification of pollutants and to protect, maintain and sustain environmental quality. Advances in our understanding of the ecology of microbial communities capable of breaking down various pollutants and the molecular and biochemical mechanisms by which biodegradation occurs have helped us in developing practical soil bioremediation strategies. Chapters dealing with the application of biological methods to soil remediation are contributed from experts - authorities in the area of environmental science including microbiology and molecular biology - from academic institutions and industry.Praxisleitfaden Amphibien- und Reptilienschutz: Schnell - Präzise - Hilfreich
By Martin Lay, Dieter Glandt. 2018
Mit diesem handlichen Band werden Ihnen schnelle und zuverlässige Informationen in knapper übersichtlicher Form über alle mitteleuropäischen Amphibien- und Reptilienarten…
geboten.Frösche, Kröten, Unken, Molche, Salamander, Echsen und Schlangen in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz werden behandelt. Dabei wird der Schwerpunkt auf die Gefährdung der Arten, deren Ursachen und besonders auf praktische Schutz- und Hilfsmaßnahmen gelegt.Studierende, freiberufliche Biologen, Landschaftsplaner und Naturschützer werden mit Gewinn dieses Nachschlagewerk bei Ihrer Arbeit nutzen. Interessierte Laien werden es gern in die Hand nehmen. Ziel der Maßnahmen soll sein, ein intaktes Netz in Verbindung stehender Populationen aufrecht zu halten oder dort, wo dies nicht der Fall ist, aufzubauen.Der Amphibien- und Reptilienschutz wird eingebettet in den Gesamtkomplex Naturschutz, wozu ein vorangestelltes allgemeines Kapitel dient. Verdeutlicht wird auch, dass diese Tiere einen wichtigen Stellenwert im Naturhaushalt (Stoffkreislauf) haben.The Soils of Iran (World Soils Book Ser.)
By Mohammad Roozitalab, Hamid Siadat, Abbas Farshad. 2018
This unique book addresses Iran’s extremely rich soil diversity and resources, which have developed under various climatic conditions ranging from…
dry to humid conditions. Featuring contributions by a group of respected experts on Iranian soils and agriculture, it provides comprehensive information on the management approaches needed for sustainable soil utilization and conservation under such conditions, and the attendant challenges. As such, it offers a valuable resource for anyone interested in soils and agriculture in Iran, but also in other Middle East and North African countries with similar climatic conditions. The book contains 14 chapters which illustrate the long history of indigenous knowledge and soil research, climate, geology and geomorphology, vegetation cover, soil forming factors and processes, major soils, properties and their classification. Furthermore, it presents past climate change and paleosols, agroecological zones, soil fertility, soil biology and biotechnology, human induced land degradation and “soil management in space and time”. In the end, major challenges facing the soil resources of the country are defined and recommendations are made to face the future challenges.The Soils of Iran (World Soils Book Ser.)
By Mohammad Roozitalab, Hamid Siadat, Abbas Farshad. 2018
This unique book addresses Iran’s extremely rich soil diversity and resources, which have developed under various climatic conditions ranging from…
dry to humid conditions. Featuring contributions by a group of respected experts on Iranian soils and agriculture, it provides comprehensive information on the management approaches needed for sustainable soil utilization and conservation under such conditions, and the attendant challenges. As such, it offers a valuable resource for anyone interested in soils and agriculture in Iran, but also in other Middle East and North African countries with similar climatic conditions. The book contains 14 chapters which illustrate the long history of indigenous knowledge and soil research, climate, geology and geomorphology, vegetation cover, soil forming factors and processes, major soils, properties and their classification. Furthermore, it presents past climate change and paleosols, agroecological zones, soil fertility, soil biology and biotechnology, human induced land degradation and “soil management in space and time”. In the end, major challenges facing the soil resources of the country are defined and recommendations are made to face the future challenges.Eco-friendly Agro-biological Techniques for Enhancing Crop Productivity
By Rakesh Singh Sengar, Ashu Singh. 2018
As the world population is exploding and alongside fluctuations in climate is also prevalent, there is an increasing stress on…
the food requirements of the population. We have an urgent necessity to produce more food in the limited agricultural land. Further, to feed 7 billion people there is a requirement of high yielding crops, without harming environment and limiting the use of unnecessary pesticide and chemical fertilizers. Therefore it has become crucial to develop agri-bio-techniques which are environment friendly and also give high crop productivity. Many countries are evaluating the utility of biotechnology and its role in addressing problems of food security and poverty. Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing and production of materials by utilising biological agents. These agents are exploited to provide goods and services. Agricultural biotechnology encompasses a growing list of techniques that range from simple probes to determine a relevant gene from the complete genome to manipulating genes for a desired outcome. Many other popular methods used in the realm of agricultural technology are – gene integration, Marker-assisted breeding, Tissue culture, Gene profiling or association mapping, Metabolomics etc. The fundamental challenge facing the scientific community is how to devise innovative strategies that will bring all developed as well as developing countries into the “biological fold” and to do so in ways that will take full advantage of advances in the biological sciences to curb poverty, improve public health, and promote human development. This book contains information on eco-friendly techniques for high crop productivity and it is a myriad of different techniques and technology used to sustain productivity in crop plants. There are fewer books focusing on large-scale organic farming, molecular farming etc. Multidisciplinary research and literature is needed to deliver knowledge and products into the marketplace which fulfil these requirements. The present book is a collection of literature contributed by experts, scientists, professors, and researchers from around the world, it emphasizes work of concerned scientist and his choice of techniques used for enhancement of agricultural production. This book analyses the use of modern techniques to increase crop yields, production, and risk of hunger linked to socioeconomic scenarios.Great Plains Bison (Discover the Great Plains)
By Dan O'Brien. 2017
Great Plains Bison traces the history and ecology of this American symbol from the origins of the great herds that…
once dominated the prairie to its near extinction in the late nineteenth century and the subsequent efforts to restore the bison population. A longtime wildlife biologist and one of the most powerful literary voices on the Great Plains, Dan O’Brien has managed his own ethically run buffalo ranch since 1997. Drawing on both extensive research and decades of personal experience, he details not only the natural history of the bison but also its prominent symbolism in Native American culture and its rise as an icon of the Great Plains. Great Plains Bison is a tribute to the bison’s essential place at the heart of the North American prairie and its ability to inspire naturalists and wildlife advocates in the fight to preserve American biodiversity.Climate Change in Wildlands: Pioneering Approaches to Science and Management
By Andrew J. Hansen, William B. Monahan, S. Thomas Olliff, David M. Theobald. 2016
Scientists have been warning for years that human activity is heating up the planet and climate change is under way.…
In the past century, global temperatures have risen an average of 1. 3 degrees Fahrenheit, a trend that is expected to only accelerate. But public sentiment has taken a long time to catch up, and we are only just beginning to acknowledge the serious effects this will have on all life on Earth. The federal government is crafting broad-scale strategies to protect wildland ecosystems from the worst effects of climate change. The challenge now is to get the latest science into the hands of resource managers entrusted with protecting water, plants, fish and wildlife, tribal lands, and cultural heritage sites in wildlands. Teaming with NASA and the Department of the Interior, ecologist Andrew Hansen, along with his team of scientists and managers, set out to understand how climate and land use changes affect montane landscapes of the Rockies and the Appalachians, and how these findings can be applied to wildlands elsewhere. They examine changes over the past century as well as expected future change, assess the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to these changes, and provide new, collaborative management approaches to mitigate expected impacts. A series of case studies showcases how managers might tackle such wide-ranging problems as the effects of warming streams on cold-water fish in Great Smoky Mountain National Park and dying white-bark pine stands in the Greater Yellowstone area. A surprising finding is that species and ecosystems vary dramatically in vulnerability to climate change. While many will suffer severe effects, others may actually benefit from projected changes. Climate Change in Wildlands is a collaboration between scientists and managers, providing a science-derived framework and common-sense approaches for keeping parks and protected areas healthy on a rapidly changing planet.Conservation for Cities: How to Plan & Build Natural Infrastructure
By Robert I. Mcdonald. 2015
It's time to think differently about cities and nature. Understanding how to better connect our cities with the benefits nature…
provides will be increasingly important as people migrate to cities and flourish in them. All this urban growth, along with challenges of adapting to climate change, will require a new approach to infrastructure if we're going to be successful. Yet guidance on how to plan and implement projects to protect or restore natural infrastructure is often hard to come by.With Conservation for Cities, Robert McDonald offers a comprehensive framework for maintaining and strengthening the supporting bonds between cities and nature through innovative infrastructure projects. After presenting a broad approach to incorporating natural infrastructure priorities into urban planning, he focuses each following chapter on a specific ecosystem service. He describes a wide variety of benefits, and helps practitioners answer fundamental questions: What are the best ecosystem services to enhance in a particular city or neighborhood? How might planners best combine green and grey infrastructure to solve problems facing a city? What are the regulatory and policy tools that can help fund and implement projects? Finally, McDonald explains how to develop a cost-effective mix of grey and green infrastructure and offers targeted advice on quantifying the benefits.Written by one of The Nature Conservancy's lead scientists on cities and natural infrastructure, Conservation for Cities is a book that ecologists, planners, and landscape architects will turn to again and again as they plan and implement a wide variety of projects.Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate Assessment (NCA Regional Input Reports)
By Gregg Garfin, Mary Black, Sarah Leroy, Angela Jardine, Robert Merideth. 2011
Prepared for the 2013 National Climate Assessment and a landmark study in terms of its breadth and depth of coverage,…
this report blends the contributions of 120 experts in climate science, economics, ecology, engineering, geography, hydrology, planning, resources management, and other disciplines to provide the most comprehensive, and understandable, analysis to date about climate and its effects on the people and landscapes of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah--including the U. S. -Mexico border region and the lands of Native Nations. What is the climate of the Southwest like today? What has it been like in the past, and how is it projected to change over the 21st century? How will that affect water resources, ecosystems, agricultural production, energy supply and delivery, transportation, human health, and a host of other areas? How vulnerable is the region to climate change? What else do we need to know about it, and how can we limit its adverse effects?In addressing these and other questions, the book offers decision makers and stakeholders a substantial basis from which to make informed choices that will affect the well-being of the region's inhabitants in the decades to come.Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living
By David Friedman, Seth Shulman, The Union of Concerned Scientists, Margaret Mellon, Jeff Deyette, Brenda Ekwurzel. 2012
How can each of us live Cooler Smarter? While the routine decisions that shape our days--what to have for dinner,…
where to shop, how to get to work--may seem small, collectively they have a big effect on global warming. But which changes in our lifestyles might make the biggest difference to the climate? This science-based guide shows you the most effective ways to cut your own global warming emissions by twenty percent or more, and explains why your individual contribution is so vital to addressing this global problem. Cooler Smarter is based on an in-depth, two-year study by the experts at The Union of Concerned Scientists. While other green guides suggest an array of tips, Cooler Smarter offers proven strategies to cut carbon, with chapters on transportation, home energy use, diet, personal consumption, as well as how best to influence your workplace, your community, and elected officials. The book explains how to make the biggest impact and when not to sweat the small stuff. It also turns many eco-myths on their head, like the importance of locally produced food or the superiority of all hybrid cars. The advice in Cooler Smarter can help save you money and live healthier. But its central purpose is to empower you, through low carbon-living, to confront one of society's greatest threats.Community Action for Conservation: Mexican Experiences
By Luciana Porter, Isabel Ruiz, Claudia Camacho, Susannah Mccandless. 2013
This book provides an in-depth analysis on community conservation in Mexico. The volume explores vivid examples and case studies that…
illustrate some of the critical issues at stake, including the participation of local communities in national and global conservation, indigenous and local perceptions of conservation initiatives in Southern Mexico, and challenges in ICCA governance and ecotourism. The book also reviews methodological approaches for understanding and strengthening community conservation, touching upon such topics as community-based biodiversity monitoring and tools for understanding children's perceptions of community conservation. Written by international experts in the field, Community Action for Conservation: Mexican Experiences is a lively and deep-running resource that offers invaluable stories and analyses of the Mexican experience with conservation.Changing our Environment, Changing Ourselves: Nature, Labour, Knowledge and Alienation
By James S. Ormrod. 2016
In this book, a celebration of the work of the sociologist Peter Dickens serves as the catalyst for exploring the…
relationship between human 'internal nature' (our health and psychological well-being) and 'external nature' (the environment on which we depend and which we collectively transform). Across contributions from Ted Benton, James Ormrod, Kate Soper, John Bellamy Foster and Brett Clark, Graham Sharp, James Addicott, Kathryn Dean and Peter Dickens himself, the book draws attention to alienation associated with the promotion of different knowledges in late capitalist production. But it also highlights the possibilities for generating less alienated relations with our environment in the future. As well as discussing the philosophical and theoretical issues involved, the book contains contemporary case studies of ultra-processed food, satellite farming, computerised thinking and dark tourism.Chinese Environmental Governance: Dynamics, Challenges, and Prospects in a Changing Society (Environmental Politics and Theory)
By Bingqiang Ren, Huisheng Shou. 2013
Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs
By David Smith, Mark Botton, John Tanacredi. 2009
The four living species of horseshoe crabs face a set of growing threats to their survival, including the erosion and/or…
man-made alteration of essential spawning habitat, coastal pollution, and overfishing. Horseshoe crabs are "living fossils", with a more than 200 million year evolutionary history. Their blood provides a reagent, known as Limulus amebocyte lysate or LAL, that clots in the presence of minute quantities of bacterial endotoxin; the LAL test is the state-of-the-art methodology used to ensure that pharmaceuticals and surgical implants are free of contamination. Horseshoe crabs are an integral part of the food web in coastal marine ecosystems, and their eggs provide essential food for shorebirds in the Delaware Bay estuary each spring. The commercial fishery for horseshoe crabs, which utilizes animals for bait, contributes to the economies of coastal communities. This book consists of papers presented at the 2007 International Symposium on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs.Biodiversität - Warum wir ohne Vielfalt nicht leben können
By Ewald Weber. 2018
Eine Einladung in die Biologie der Vielfalt Dieses Buch berichtet über ein ebenso spannendes wie aktuelles Thema an der Schnittstelle…
zwischen naturwissenschaftlicher Grundlagenforschung und globaler gesellschaftlicher Herausforderung: die Biodiversität. Drei Ebenen kommen hier zusammen: die Vielfalt der Arten in einem Lebensraum, die Vielfalt der Ökosysteme und Lebensräume selbst und die Vielfalt der Gene in den Lebewesen. Der Autor, Biologe und selbst in der Biodiversitätsforschung tätig, nimmt Sie mit auf eine aufregende Entdeckungsreise durch diese mannigfach vernetzte Welt. In leicht verständlicher Sprache und mit vielen anschaulichen Beispielen erklärt er Zusammenhänge und Hintergründe. Wie ist Biodiversität eigentlich definiert, und mit welchen Techniken wird sie erfasst? Wie ist die immense Artenvielfalt auf der Erde entstanden, und wie entwickelt sie sich weiter? Welchen Nutzen hat die Biodiversität auf den verschiedenen Ebenen? In welchem Maße ist die Vielfalt der Arten und Lebensräume heute bedroht, und wie kann man diesem Trend entgegenwirken? Solche und ähnliche Fragen beantwortet dieses Buch, in dessen breitem Themenbogen sich die Vielfalt seines Gegenstands wiederspiegelt. Tauchen Sie ein in die faszinierende Welt der Biodiversität! Der AutorEwald Weber ist Biologe und Sachbuchautor. Er lehrt und forscht an der Universität Potsdam mit Schwerpunkt Biodiversität. Sein Anliegen als Autor ist das Vermitteln von wissenschaftlichen Zusammenhängen und von Naturgeschichte im weitesten Sinn.Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction
By Chris D. Thomas. 2017
Human activity has irreversibly changed the natural environment. But the news isn't all bad.It's accepted wisdom today that human beings…
have permanently damaged the natural world, causing extinction, deforestation, pollution, and of course climate change. But in Inheritors of the Earth, biologist Chris Thomas shows that this obscures a more hopeful truth--we're also helping nature grow and change. Human cities and mass agriculture have created new places for enterprising animals and plants to live, and our activities have stimulated evolutionary change in virtually every population of living species. Most remarkably, Thomas shows, humans may well have raised the rate at which new species are formed to the highest level in the history of our planet.Drawing on the success stories of diverse species, from the ochre-colored comma butterfly to the New Zealand pukeko, Thomas overturns the accepted story of declining biodiversity on Earth. In so doing, he questions why we resist new forms of life, and why we see ourselves as unnatural. Ultimately, he suggests that if life on Earth can recover from the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs, it can survive the onslaughts of the technological age. This eye-opening book is a profound reexamination of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.Current Trends in Wildlife Research (Wildlife Research Monographs #1)
By Rafael Mateo, Beatriz Arroyo, Jesus T. Garcia. 2016
This book, the first in the "WildlifeResearch Monograph" series, defines "wildlife research" in a variety ofcontexts and reviews recent research…
trends. The authors present the currentdevelopments they have identified using bibliometric analyses of the mostcommon, relevant and emerging topics in wildlife research over the last three decades. Diverse aspects of wildlife research are discussed, including wildlifedemography, infections spread between wildlife, livestock and humans, habitatrequirements and management, as well as the effects of renewable energy andpollutants on wildlife. Furthermore the authors explore topics like advances inthe study of species distribution, invasive species, use of molecular markersin wildlife studies and the sustainability of wildlife exploitation andconservation conflicts. The book offers a comprehensive overview of advances inwildlife research in the last decades.Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage
By Heather Rogers. 2005
Eat a take-out meal, buy a pair of shoes, or read a newspaper, and you're soon faced with a bewildering…
amount of garbage. The United States is the planet's number-one producer of trash. Each American throws out 4.5 pounds daily. But garbage is also a global problem; the Pacific Ocean is today six times more abundant with plastic waste than zooplankton. How did we end up with this much rubbish, and where does it all go? Journalist and filmmaker Heather Rogers answers these questions by taking readers on a grisly, oddly fascinating tour through the underworld of garbage.Said to "read like a thriller" (Library Journal), Gone Tomorrow excavates the history of rubbish handling from the 1800s to the present, pinpointing the roots of today's waste-addicted society. With a "lively authorial voice" (New York Press), Rogers draws connections between modern industrial production, consumer culture, and our throwaway lifestyle. She also investigates controversial topics like the politics of recycling and the export of trash to poor countries, while offering a potent argument for change.