Download or read book Biodiversity in Drylands written by Moshe Shachak and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2005 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity in Drylands, the first internationally based synthesis volume in the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Series, unifies the concepts of species and landscape diversity with respect to deserts. Within this framework, the book treats several emerging themes, among them: � how animal biodiversity can be supported in deserts � diversity's relation to habitat structure, environmental variability, and species interactions � the relation between spatial scale and diversity � how to use a landscape simulation model to understand diversity � microbial contributions to biodiversity in deserts � species diversity and ecosystem processes � resource partitioning and biodiversity in fractal environments � effects of grazing on biodiversity � reconciliation ecology and the future of conservation management In the face of global change, integration is crucial for dealing with the problem of sustaining biodiversity. This book promises to be a vital resource for students, researchers, and managers interested in integrative species, resource, and landscape diversities.
Download or read book Drylands written by Victor R. Squires and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2019 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book fills a gap in the literature admirably. It gets away from species lists and designation of species and habitats as endangered or at risk. Instead, it opens up discussion on a range of issues relating to the important matters of biodiversity, land management and efforts at conservation (wise use) of natural resources that support an areas biodiversity. Dryland ecologists, land use change specialists, policy makers from UN agencies or from bilateral and multilateral donors and other natural resource management agencies will find the book very useful. It is also a valuable reference book for university students in ecology, geography, environmental studies and development studies in general.
Download or read book Biological Soil Crusts An Organizing Principle in Drylands written by Bettina Weber and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-05-21 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume summarizes our current understanding of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which are omnipresent in dryland regions. Since they cover the soil surface, they influence, or even control, all surface exchange processes. Being one of the oldest terrestrial communities, biocrusts comprise a high diversity of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens and bryophytes together with uncounted bacteria, and fungi. The authors show that biocrusts are an integral part of dryland ecosystems, stabilizing soils, influencing plant germination and growth, and playing a key role in carbon, nitrogen and water cycling. Initial attempts have been made to use biocrusts as models in ecological theory. On the other hand, biocrusts are endangered by local disruptions and global change, highlighting the need for enhanced recovery methods. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the fascinating field of biocrust research, making it indispensable not only for scientists in this area, but also for land managers, policy makers, and anyone interested in the environment.
Download or read book Conserving Dryland Biodiversity written by Jonathan Davies and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dryland Opportunities written by Michael Mortimore and published by World Conservation Union. This book was released on 2009 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drylands cover 41 percent of the earth' s terrestrial surface. The urgency of and international response to climate change have given a new place to drylands in terms both of their vulnerability to predicted climate change impacts and their potential contribution to climate change mitigation. This book aims to apply the new scientific insights on complex dryland systems to practical options for development. A new dryland paradigm is built on the resources and capacities of dryland peoples, on new and emergent economic opportunities, on inward investment, and on the best support that dryland science can offer.
Download or read book The Future of Drylands written by Cathy Lee and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-29 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts. The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
Download or read book Ecosystems and Human Well being written by Joseph Alcamo and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecosystems and Human Well-Being is the first product of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year international work program designed to meet the needs of decisionmakers for scientific information on the links between ecosystem change and human well-being. The book offers an overview of the project, describing the conceptual framework that is being used, defining its scope, and providing a baseline of understanding that all participants need to move forward. The Millennium Assessment focuses on how humans have altered ecosystems, and how changes in ecosystem services have affected human well-being, how ecosystem changes may affect people in future decades, and what types of responses can be adopted at local, national, or global scales to improve ecosystem management and thereby contribute to human well-being and poverty alleviation. The program was launched by United National Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June 2001, and the primary assessment reports will be released by Island Press in 2005. Leading scientists from more than 100 nations are conducting the assessment, which can aid countries, regions, or companies by: providing a clear, scientific picture of the current sta
Download or read book The nature of drylands diverse ecosystems diverse solutions written by and published by IUCN. This book was released on with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Conservation Management and Sustainable Use of Dryland Biodiversity Within Priority Agro ecosystems of the Near East written by Scott Christiansen and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Wetlands in a Dry Land written by Emily O'Gorman and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the name of agriculture, urban growth, and disease control, humans have drained, filled, or otherwise destroyed nearly 87 percent of the world’s wetlands over the past three centuries. Unintended consequences include biodiversity loss, poor water quality, and the erosion of cultural sites, and only in the past few decades have wetlands been widely recognized as worth preserving. Emily O’Gorman asks, What has counted as a wetland, for whom, and with what consequences? Using the Murray-Darling Basin—a massive river system in eastern Australia that includes over 30,000 wetland areas—as a case study and drawing on archival research and original interviews, O’Gorman examines how people and animals have shaped wetlands from the late nineteenth century to today. She illuminates deeper dynamics by relating how Aboriginal peoples acted then and now as custodians of the landscape, despite the policies of the Australian government; how the movements of water birds affected farmers; and how mosquitoes have defied efforts to fully understand, let alone control, them. Situating the region’s history within global environmental humanities conversations, O’Gorman argues that we need to understand wetlands as socioecological landscapes in order to create new kinds of relationships with and futures for these places.
Download or read book Climate Change and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity in Arid and Semi Arid Zones written by Karmaoui, Ahmed and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2019-02-22 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecosystems provide services that are crucial and beneficial to the human population. The management and conservation of these services can assure the wellbeing of the local population. Climate Change and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones is an essential reference source that studies the effects of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services in dry regions and examines various strategic local, national, and international policy developments to help overcome these impacts. Featuring research on topics such as poverty reduction, climate change, and adaption policies, this book is ideally designed for environmentalists, policymakers, government officials, academicians, researchers, and technology developers who want to improve their understanding of climate change impact, vulnerability, and sustainability, and the strategic role of adaptation and mitigation.
Download or read book Conserving Biodiversity written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-02-01 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The loss of the earth's biological diversity is widely recognized as a critical environmental problem. That loss is most severe in developing countries, where the conditions of human existence are most difficult. Conserving Biodiversity presents an agenda for research that can provide information to formulate policy and design conservation programs in the Third World. The book includes discussions of research needs in the biological sciences as well as economics and anthropology, areas of critical importance to conservation and sustainable development. Although specifically directed toward development agencies, non-governmental organizations, and decisionmakers in developing nations, this volume should be of interest to all who are involved in the conservation of biological diversity.
Download or read book Patterns of Land Degradation in Drylands written by Eva Nora Mueller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-08-15 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the theory of ecogeomorphic pattern-process linkages, using case studies from Europe, Africa, Australia and North America. Sets forth a research agenda for the emerging field of ecogeomorphology in drylands land-degradation studies.
Download or read book Economics of Dryland Management written by John A. Dixon and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We have always had land in which the agricultural productivity is limited because there is not enough moisture. Systems of farming and burning often degrade dryland further until it is desert. Today, however, the problem is becoming much more serious. Over 20 per cent of the world's population lives in dryland areas, and unless action is taken drylands will increase dramatically. This book focuses on the people who live and .farm in the drylands, their use of land resources and the economic returns from their decisions. In a clear and thorough economic appraisal, the authors show how it is still possible to arrest the problem. Originally published in 1989
Download or read book Valuing Variability written by International Institute for Environment and Development and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Youth Guide to Biodiversity written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2018-06-06 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biodiversity guide was designed as an educational resource for schools, youth groups and curious young learners. It explains biodiversity in terms of genes, species and ecosystems, exploring its many shapes and forms under the sea, on land, up in the air, in rivers and lakes, and on the farms that produce our food. The guide considers why biodiversity is important, how humans affect it, and what we must do to conserve the world’s biological resource. At the end of the guide there are inspiring examples of youth-led initiatives and an easy-to-follow action plan readers develop their own projects.
Download or read book Biodiversity of Semiarid Landscape written by Sunil Nautiyal and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-06-20 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study presents authentic data compiled from field experiments and investigations, and provides a point of reference for any future changes associated with anthropogenic activity in semiarid ecosystems. Three years of continuous and rigorous empirical research on biodiversity (from phytoplankton to higher plants and from zooplankton to higher animals – all flora and fauna) in India’s semiarid region have culminated in this work. Though there are many studies available on issues related to biodiversity, the majority cover either specific groups of plants or groups of animals; with the exception of this book, studies that include all flora and fauna including the phyto- and zooplanktons in a given ecosystem are not readily available. Further, the book focuses on an extremely important topic, firstly because semiarid landscapes are highly vulnerable to climate change, and secondly because other developmental activities will be undertaken in the region in an effort to meet its energy requirements. As such, the results of the current study will provide a standard protocol for subsequent monitoring and mapping of biodiversity for conservation and management. The book explores, quantifies and surveys plant and animal species from aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, assessing and quantitatively analyzing the diversity indices of different vegetation strata. Further, it investigates the conservation status of each species (flora and fauna) in keeping with IUCN categories. The study also examines landscape dynamics using RS and GIS for vegetation analysis, and discusses traditional ecological knowledge related to the use, conservation and management of biodiversity. As such, it offers a unique and valuable resource not only for researchers from the environmental/ecological sciences but also for conservationists and policymakers.
