Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems Volume 2 Structure Functioning and Management written by D. W. Goodall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-19 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume was first published in 1981. The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems.
Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems Volume 1 written by R. A. Perry and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1979-03-08 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive account of arid-land ecosystems will be of importance to university teachers and professional ecologists throughout the world.
Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems written by R. A. Perry and published by International Biological Progr. This book was released on 2009-07 with total page 909 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems. It is to this end that the IBP and other relevant studies, reported in this and a succeeding volume, are addressed. The subject matter of the two volumes is organised into five major topics; two are dealt with in the first volume. The first section of volume one describes the structure of arid ecosystems in terms of climate, soils, geomorphology, hydrology, flora and fauna. All continents except South America are covered. In the second section the processes which operate within, and control, the ecosystem are dealt with individually. This comprehensive account will be of importance to university teachers and professional ecologists throughout the world.
Download or read book Range Management In Arid Zones written by Samira A.S. Omar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-19 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1995. This title presents the proceedings of The Second International Conference on Range Management in the Arabian Gulf, 1990. The objectives of the Conference were to: evaluate progress made following the First Conference; exchange information on range management development; review advances in applicable technologies; discuss potential strategies for range enhancement and assemble pertinent recommendations for enactment. As such, these proceedings will serve as a reference base for researchers, professors, lecturers, and students alike, both at advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.
Download or read book Geomorphology of Desert Environments written by A. D. Abrahams and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 1021 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last twenty years there has been a major expansion of knowledge in the field of landforms and landforming processes of deserts. This advanced-level book provides a benchmark for the current state of science, and is written by an international team of authors who are acknowledged experts in their fields.
Download or read book The Tragedy of Afghanistan written by Bo Huldt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 stunned the world and ushered in a new period of superpower confrontation. Research into Afghan society was severely curtailed, and the ability to research the Afghan resistance was non-existent. This book, first published in 1988, was the result of a Swedish seminar that focused on the results of the war on the people and culture of Afghanistan.
Download or read book Managing and Conserving Grassy Woodlands written by S McIntyre and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2004-08-02 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In eastern Australia, grassy eucalypt woodlands have been under severe pressure from agricultural development, with problems of land degradation and species decline being most severe in the cropping lands of south-eastern Australia. Managing and Conserving Grassy Woodlands describes a set of principles that will enable landholders to maintain or increase productivity without compromising ecological sustainability, and at the same time maintaining a substantial proportion of the native flora and fauna. The book provides the technical foundations underpinning the principles and explains the importance of planning at a landscape scale. Each major principle is addressed in a separate chapter which explains the scientific understanding behind the principle and which discusses some of the issues relating to its practical application. Additional chapters outline the basic ecological concepts underpinning the principles and the responses of landholders who have had the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the principles. For those interested in translating the principles into a property plan, a final chapter explores the steps that can be taken. Managing and Conserving Grassy Woodlands is intended for those at the interface of disciplinary research and on-ground application, whether they are working in research, regional planning, extension, landcare or land management.
Download or read book Big Ecology written by David C. Coleman and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A fascinating historical narrative about the unfolding sequence of large ecosystem research programs over the past 40 years. As a player on this stage, Coleman conveys the intimate personalities and politics while still offering insightful and objective evaluations. Interwoven throughout the story is a remarkably detailed textbook of ecosystem science from then until today."--Paul G. Risser, University of Oklahoma
Download or read book Ecology of World Vegetation written by O.W. Archibold and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ecology of world vegetation is described in numer all of the drafting and photographic work. They have ous books and journals, but these are usually very spe spent many hours on this project and their care and skill cialized in their scope and treatment. This book provides is reflected in the consistently high quality of the illus a synthesis of this literature. A brief introductory chap trations throughout the book. Many friends and col ter outlines general ecological concepts and subsequent leagues have provided photographs. It has not been chapters examine the form and function of the major possible to include all of them, but the 'global' perspect biomes of the world. A similar organization has been ive of the book has been greatly enhanced in this way. used for each biome type. These chapters begin with a I wish to thank them all for the time and trouble they description of environmental conditions and a brief have taken to supply this material. I must also thank account of floristic diversity in a regional context. The Mary Dykes and the staff of the interlibrary loans de remaining pages describe characteristic adaptations and partment of the Library, University of Saskatchewan, ecosystem processes. for their unfailing ability to get even the most obscure Although there is a rapidly growing literature on eco references.
Download or read book Forest Succession written by D. C. West and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Succession-nothing in plant, community, or ecosystem ecology has been so elaborated by terminology, so much reviewed, and yet so much the center of controversy. In a general sense, every ecologist uses the concept in teaching and research, but no two ecologists seem to have a unified concept of the details of succession. The word was used by Thoreau to describe, from a naturalist's point of view, the general changes observed during the transition of an old field to a forest. As data accumulated, a lengthy taxonomy of succession developed around early twentieth century ecologists such as Cooper, Clements, and Gleason. Now, nearer the end of the century, and after much discussion concerning the nature of vegetation communities, where do ecologists stand with respect to knowledge of ecological succession? The intent of this book is not to rehash classic philosophies of succession that have emerged through the past several decades of study, but to provide a forum for ecologists to present their current research and present-day interpretation of data. To this end, we brought together a group of scientists currently studying terrestrial plant succession, who represent research experience in a broad spectrum of different ecosystem types. The results of that meeting led to this book, which presents to the reader a unique summary of contemporary research on forest succession.
Download or read book Tundra Ecosystems written by International Biological Programme and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1981 with total page 864 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brings together the results of research programmes in Austria, Canada, U.S.A., Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, U.K., Ireland, U.S.S.R. and the Antarctic describing tundra and related ecosystems in a comparative manner. Includes sections on the abiotic, plant production and fauna components, the decomposer cycle and the utilisation and conservation of tundra.
Download or read book Rangeland Desertification written by Olafur Arnalds and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Desertification has occurred worldwide. The biophysical and socio-economic complexity of this phenomenon has challenged our ability to categorize, inventory, monitor and repair the condition of degraded lands. One of the most important distinctions to be made in relation to land degradation is between cultivated land used for annual crop production and `rangelands'. Grazing by free-roaming livestock is the traditional primary use of the world's rangelands. However, there is growing recognition of the importance of these vast acreages for wildlife habitat, hydrology and ground water recharge, recreation and aesthetics. This text focuses on the desertification of rangelands and explores processes, problems and solutions. Chapters in the first section evaluate interactions between `natural' and human-induced disturbance regimes, thresholds, and non-linear change with respect to vegetation, hydrology, nutrients and erosion. Chapters in the second section examine socio-economic constraints and approaches for preventing and reversing degradation. The book provides a contemporary, process-oriented perspective on rangeland degradation of value to students, policy-makers and professionals alike.
Download or read book Dynamic Properties of Forest Ecosystems written by David E. Reichle and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1981-03-26 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together different 'schools' of ecological investigation of woodlands. After a description of the structure and floristic composition of the research sites, involving a comparison of boreal, temperate, Mediterranean and tropical forest, the study goes on to consider the dynamic aspects of the woodland formation.
Download or read book Biotic Interactions in Arid Lands written by John L. Cloudsley-Thompson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exigencies of life in the desert environment have resulted in the se lection of a diversity of adaptations, both morphological and physiologi cal, in the flora and fauna. At the same time, many plants and most small animals are able not merely to exist but even to thrive under desert conditions - mainly by avoiding thermal extremes and by the refine ment of pre-existing abilities to economise in water. In the same way, the biotic interactions of the flora and fauna of the desert do not involve many new principles. Nevertheless, conditions in arid regions frequently do invoke refinements of the complex interrelations between predators and their prey, parasites and their hosts, as well as between herbivores and the plants upon which they feed. In this book, I shall discuss not only such interactions and their feedback effects, but also community processes and population dynamics in the desert. The physical conditions of the desert that principally affect predators and their prey are its openness and the paucity of cover. This is re stricted to scattered plants, occasional rocks, holes, and crevices in the ground. Furthermore, nightfall does not confer relative invisibility, as it does in many other ecobiomes, because of the clarity of the atmosphere. The bright starlight of the desert renders nearby objects visible even to the human eye, while an incandescent moon bathes the empty landscape with a flood of silver light. Consequently, adaptive coloration is func tional at all hours of the day and night.
Download or read book Grassland Ecosystems of the World Analysis of Grasslands and Their Uses written by Robert T. Coupland and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1979-05-10 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Background; The nature of grassland; Problems in studying grassland ecosystems; Natural temperate grasslands; Semi-natural temperate meadows and pastures; Tropical grasslands; Arable grasslands; Croplands.
Download or read book Energetics of Desert Invertebrates written by Harold Heatwole and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Desert invertebrates live in an environment where resources alternate unpredictably between brief periods of plenty and prolonged scarcity. This book describes the adaptive strategies of desert invertebrates in acquiring energy and sustaining life with such fluctuations. Some cooperate in foraging; others compete for resources. Some are nomadic and migrate to more favorable sites as conditions change. Others conserve energy by going into a deep dormancy until better conditions return. Still others store food during plentiful periods so as to retreat underground during less favorable times. The adaptive modes of economizing on scarce energy resources are diverse and lead to an appreciation of the intricate interactions of animals living close to their environmental limits.
Download or read book Wetland and Riparian Areas of the Intermountain West written by Mark C. McKinstry and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wetlands and riparian areas between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada are incredibly diverse and valuable habitats. More than 80 percent of the wildlife species in this intermountain region depend on these wetlands—which account for less than 2 percent of the land area—for their survival. At the same time, the wetlands also serve the water needs of ranchers and farmers, recreationists, vacation communities, and cities. It is no exaggeration to call water the "liquid gold" of the West, and the burgeoning human demands on this scarce resource make it imperative to understand and properly manage the wetlands and riverine areas of the Intermountain West. This book offers land managers, biologists, and research scientists a state-of-the-art survey of the ecology and management practices of wetland and riparian areas in the Intermountain West. Twelve articles examine such diverse issues as laws and regulations affecting these habitats, the unique physiographic features of the region, the importance of wetlands and riparian areas to fish, wildlife, and livestock, the ecological function of these areas, their value to humans, and the methods to evaluate these habitats. The authors also address the human impacts on the land from urban and suburban development, mining, grazing, energy extraction, recreation, water diversions, and timber harvesting and suggest ways to mitigate such impacts.
