Download or read book Isoscapes written by Jason B. West and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-11-25 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stable isotope ratio variation in natural systems reflects the dynamics of Earth systems processes and imparts isotope labels to Earth materials. Carbon isotope ratios of atmospheric CO2 record exchange of carbon between the biosphere and the atmosphere; the incredible journeys of migrating monarchs is documented by hydrogen isotopes in their wings; and water carries an isotopic record of its source and history as it traverses the atmosphere and land surface. Through these and many other examples, improved understanding of spatio-temporal isotopic variation in Earth systems is leading to innovative new approaches to scientific problem-solving. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, methods, and applications that are enabling new disciplinary and cross-disciplinary advances through the study of "isoscapes": isotopic landscapes. "This impressive new volume shows scientists deciphering and using the natural isotope landscapes that subtly adorn our spaceship Earth.", Brian Fry, Coastal Ecology Institute, Louisiana State University, USA "An excellent timely must read and must-have reference book for anybody interested or engaged in applying stable isotope signatures to questions in e.g. Anthropology, Biogeochemistry, Ecology, or Forensic Science regarding chronological and spatial movement, changes, or distribution relating to animals, humans, plants, or water.", Wolfram Meier-Augenstein, Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification, University of Dundee, UK "Natural resources are being affected by global change, but exactly where, how, and at what pace? Isoscapes provide new and remarkably precise answers.", John Hayes, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA "This exciting volume is shaping a new landscape in environmental sciences that is utilizing the remarkable advances in isotope research to enhance and extend the capabilities of the field.", Dan Yakir, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Download or read book Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2 000 Years written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-01-05 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the implications of these efforts for our understanding of global climate change. Because widespread, reliable temperature records are available only for the last 150 years, scientists estimate temperatures in the more distant past by analyzing "proxy evidence," which includes tree rings, corals, ocean and lake sediments, cave deposits, ice cores, boreholes, and glaciers. Starting in the late 1990s, scientists began using sophisticated methods to combine proxy evidence from many different locations in an effort to estimate surface temperature changes during the last few hundred to few thousand years. This book is an important resource in helping to understand the intricacies of global climate change.

Download or read book Permafrost Ecosystems written by Akira Osawa and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-01-04 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing from a decade-long collaboration between Japan and Russia, this important volume presents the first major synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of the coniferous forests growing on permafrost at high latitudes. It presents ecological data for a region long inaccessible to most scientists, and raises important questions about the global carbon balance as these systems are affected by the changing climate. Making up around 20% of the entire boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, these ‘permafrost forest ecosystems’ are subject to particular constraints in terms of temperature, nutrient availability, and root space, creating exceptional ecosystem characteristics not known elsewhere. This authoritative text explores their diversity, structure, dynamics and physiology. It provides a comparison of these forests in relation to boreal forests elsewhere, and concludes with an assessment of the potential responses of this unique biome to climate change. The book will be invaluable to advanced students and researchers interested in boreal vegetation, forest ecology, silviculture and forest soils, as well as to researchers into climate change and the global carbon balance.

Download or read book Carbon Dioxide and Environmental Stress written by Luo Yiqi and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 1999-04-13 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the interactive effects of environmental stresses with plant and ecosystem functions, especially with respect to changes in the abundance of carbon dioxide. The interaction of stresses with elevated carbon dioxide are presented from the cellular through whole plant ecosystem level. The book carefully considers not only the responses of the above-ground portion of the plant, but also emphasizes the critical role of below-ground (rhizosphere) components (e.g., roots, microbes, soil) in determining the nature and magnitude of these interactions.* Will rising CO2 alter the importance of environmental stress in natural and agricultural ecosystems?* Will environmental stress on plants reduce their capacity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere?* Are some stresses more important than others as we concern ourselves with global change?* Can we develop predictive models useful for scientists and policy-makers?* Where should future research efforts be focused?

Download or read book Successes Limitations and Frontiers in Ecosystem Science written by Michael L. Pace and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecosystem research has emerged in recent decades as a vital, successful, and sometimes controversial approach to environmental science. This book emphasizes the idea that much of the progress in ecosystem research has been driven by the emergence of new environmental problems that could not be addressed by existing approaches. By focusing on successes and limitations of ecosystems studies, the book explores avenues for future ecosystem-level research.

Download or read book Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice written by Monica G. Turner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ideal text for students taking a course in landscape ecology. The book has been written by very well-known practitioners and pioneers in the new field of ecological analysis. Landscape ecology has emerged during the past two decades as a new and exciting level of ecological study. Environmental problems such as global climate change, land use change, habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity have required ecologists to expand their traditional spatial and temporal scales and the widespread availability of remote imagery, geographic information systems, and desk top computing has permitted the development of spatially explicit analyses. In this new text book this new field of landscape ecology is given the first fully integrated treatment suitable for the student. Throughout, the theoretical developments, modeling approaches and results, and empirical data are merged together, so as not to introduce barriers to the synthesis of the various approaches that constitute an effective ecological synthesis. The book also emphasizes selected topic areas in which landscape ecology has made the most contributions to our understanding of ecological processes, as well as identifying areas where its contributions have been limited. Each chapter features questions for discussion as well as recommended reading.

Download or read book Isotopes in Palaeoenvironmental Research written by Melanie J. Leng and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-03-09 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thorough reference shows how stable isotopes can be applied to understanding the palaeoenvironment, with chapters on the interpretation of isotopes in water, tree rings, bones and teeth, lake sediments, speleothems and marine sediments. The book offers detailed advice on calibration, including a multi-proxy approach, using isotope signals from different materials or combined with other palaeoenvironmental techniques, to enhance the reliability of readings.

Download or read book Crop Stress and its Management Perspectives and Strategies written by B. Venkateswarlu and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-11-22 with total page 617 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crops experience an assortment of environmental stresses which include abiotic viz., drought, water logging, salinity, extremes of temperature, high variability in radiation, subtle but perceptible changes in atmospheric gases and biotic viz., insects, birds, other pests, weeds, pathogens (viruses and other microbes). The ability to tolerate or adapt and overwinter by effectively countering these stresses is a very multifaceted phenomenon. In addition, the inability to do so which renders the crops susceptible is again the result of various exogenous and endogenous interactions in the ecosystem. Both biotic and abiotic stresses occur at various stages of plant development and frequently more than one stress concurrently affects the crop. Stresses result in both universal and definite effects on plant growth and development. One of the imposing tasks for the crop researchers globally is to distinguish and to diminish effects of these stress factors on the performance of crop plants, especially with respect to yield and quality of harvested products. This is of special significance in view of the impending climate change, with complex consequences for economically profitable and ecologically and environmentally sound global agriculture. The challenge at the hands of the crop scientist in such a scenario is to promote a competitive and multifunctional agriculture, leading to the production of highly nourishing, healthy and secure food and animal feed as well as raw materials for a wide variety of industrial applications. In order to successfully meet this challenge researchers have to understand the various aspects of these stresses in view of the current development from molecules to ecosystems. The book will focus on broad research areas in relation to these stresses which are in the forefront in contemporary crop stress research.

Download or read book Algal Ecology written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1996-06-03 with total page 781 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Algae are an important component of aquatic benthic ecosystems because they reflect the health of their environment through their density, abundance, and diversity. This comprehensive and authoritative text is divided into three sections to offer complete coverage of the discussion in this field. The first section introduces the locations of benthic algae in different ecosystems, like streams, large rivers, lakes, and other aquatic habitats. The second section is devoted to the various factors, both biotic and abiotic, that affect benthic freshwater algae. The final section of the book focuses on the role played by algae in a variety of complex freshwater ecosystems. As concern over environmental health escalates, the keystone and pivotal role played by algae is becoming more apparent. This volume in the Aquatic Ecology Series represents an important compilation of the latest research on the crucial niche occupied by algae in aquatic ecosystems. - Presents algae as the important player in relation to environmental health - Prepared by leading authorities in the field - Includes comprehensive treatment of the functions of benthic algae as well as the factors that affect these important aquatic organisms - Acts as an important reference for anyone interested in understanding and managing freshwater ecosystems

Download or read book Sediment Dynamics and Pollutant Mobility in Rivers written by Bernd Westrich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-11 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first interdisciplinary book on the mobilization of nutrients and pollutants in the water phase due to hydrodynamic processes. Coverage includes the formation of aggregates in turbulent water; flocks and biofilms from organic reactions; and the formation of new surfaces for re-adsorption of dissolved pollutants. The book gathers papers resulting from an International Symposium on Sediment Dynamics and Pollutant Mobility in River Basins in Hamburg, Germany, March, 2006.

Download or read book Boreal Peatland Ecosystems written by R.K. Wieder and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-10-16 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first truly ecosystem-oriented book on peatlands. It adopts an ecosystems approach to understanding the world's boreal peatlands. The focus is on biogeochemical patterns and processes, production, decomposition, and peat accumulation, and it provides additional information on animal and fungal diversity. A recurring theme is the legacy of boreal peatlands as impressive accumulators of carbon as peat over millennia.

Download or read book Foundations of Restoration Ecology written by Society for Ecological Restoration International and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2016-11 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Society for Ecological Restoration"--Cover.

Download or read book The Soils of Italy written by Edoardo A.C. Costantini and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-29 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Soils of Italy is the first comprehensive book on Italian pedology in seventy years. Taking advantage of the authors’ large experience and of the most up-to-date information and technology, this book treats the main soil types of Italy, their diffusion, their functions, ecological use, and the threats to which they are subjected during centuries of intensive management. It also deals with future scenarios of the relationships between soil science and other disciplines, such as urban development, medicine, economics, sociology, and archaeology. The description of the soils is accompanied by a complete set of data, pictures and maps, including benchmark profiles. Factors of soil formation are also treated, making use of new, unpublished data and elaborations. The book also includes a history of pedological research in Italy, spanning over a century.

Download or read book Terrestrial Vegetation of California 3rd Edition written by Michael Barbour and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-07-17 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This completely new edition of Terrestrial Vegetation of California clearly documents the extraordinary complexity and richness of the plant communities and of the state and the forces that shape them. This volume is a storehouse of information of value to anyone concerned with meeting the challenge of understanding, managing or conserving these unique plant communities under the growing threats of climate change, biological invasions and development."—Harold Mooney, Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University "The plants of California are under threat like never before. Traditional pressures of development and invasive species have been joined by a newly-recognized threat: human-caused climate change. It is essential that we thoroughly understand current plant community dynamics in order to have a hope of conserving them. This book represents an important, well-timed advance in knowledge of the vegetation of this diverse state and is an essential resource for professionals, students, and the general public alike."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Download or read book Bio Geo Interactions in Metal Contaminated Soils written by Erika Kothe and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-01-05 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metal contamination is an increasing ecological and eco-toxicological risk. Understanding the processes involved in metal mobilization, sorption and mineralization in soils are key features for soil bioremediation. Following an introduction to the physical, chemical and biological components of contaminated soils, various chapters address the interactions of soil, microorganisms, plants and the water phase necessary to transfer metals into biological systems. These include topics such as potential hazards at mining sites; rare earth elements in biotic and abiotic acidic systems; manganese redox reactions; biomineralisation, uranium in seepage water; metal-resistant streptomycetes; mycorrhiza in re-forestation; metal (hyper)accummulation in plants; microbial metal uptake; and their potential for bioremediation. This book will be of interest to soil biologists, geologists and chemists, researchers and graduate students, as well as consulting companies and small enterprises involved in bioremediation.

Download or read book Principles of Stable Isotope Geochemistry written by Zachary Sharp and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 2007 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first dedicated book to cover the basics of a wide range of stable isotope applications in a manner appropriate for someone entering the field. At the same time, it offers sufficient detail - and numerous references and examples - to direct research for further inquiry. Discusses diverse topics such as hydrology, carbon in plants, meteorites, carbonates, metamorphic rocks, etc. Explores the theory and principles of isotope fractionation. Offers unique, up-to-date discussion of meteorite (extraterrestrial) isotope data. Presents the subject in an interesting historical context, with the classic papers noted. A useful reference for students taking the course and professionals entering the field of Geochemistry.

Download or read book Anagram Solver written by Bloomsbury Publishing and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 719 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anagram Solver is the essential guide to cracking all types of quiz and crossword featuring anagrams. Containing over 200,000 words and phrases, Anagram Solver includes plural noun forms, palindromes, idioms, first names and all parts of speech. Anagrams are grouped by the number of letters they contain with the letters set out in alphabetical order so that once the letters of an anagram are arranged alphabetically, finding the solution is as easy as locating the word in a dictionary.