Download or read book New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration written by Richard J. Hobbs and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-03-19 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As scientific understanding about ecological processes has grown, the idea that ecosystem dynamics are complex, nonlinear, and often unpredictable has gained prominence. Of particular importance is the idea that rather than following an inevitable progression toward an ultimate endpoint, some ecosystems may occur in a number of states depending on past and present ecological conditions. The emerging idea of “restoration thresholds” also enables scientists to recognize when ecological systems are likely to recover on their own and when active restoration efforts are needed. Conceptual models based on alternative stable states and restoration thresholds can help inform restoration efforts. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration brings together leading experts from around the world to explore how conceptual models of ecosystem dynamics can be applied to the recovery of degraded systems and how recent advances in our understanding of ecosystem and landscape dynamics can be translated into conceptual and practical frameworks for restoration. In the first part of the book, background chapters present and discuss the basic concepts and models and explore the implications of new scientific research on restoration practice. The second part considers the dynamics and restoration of different ecosystems, ranging from arid lands to grasslands, woodlands, and savannahs, to forests and wetlands, to production landscapes. A summary chapter by the editors discusses the implications of theory and practice of the ideas described in preceding chapters. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration aims to widen the scope and increase the application of threshold models by critiquing their application in a wide range of ecosystem types. It will also help scientists and restorationists correctly diagnose ecosystem damage, identify restoration thresholds, and develop corrective methodologies that can overcome such thresholds.
Download or read book New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration written by Richard J. Hobbs and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2008-01-07 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As scientific understanding about ecological processes has grown, the idea that ecosystem dynamics are complex, nonlinear, and often unpredictable has gained prominence. Of particular importance is the idea that rather than following an inevitable progression toward an ultimate endpoint, some ecosystems may occur in a number of states depending on past and present ecological conditions. The emerging idea of “restoration thresholds” also enables scientists to recognize when ecological systems are likely to recover on their own and when active restoration efforts are needed. Conceptual models based on alternative stable states and restoration thresholds can help inform restoration efforts. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration brings together leading experts from around the world to explore how conceptual models of ecosystem dynamics can be applied to the recovery of degraded systems and how recent advances in our understanding of ecosystem and landscape dynamics can be translated into conceptual and practical frameworks for restoration. In the first part of the book, background chapters present and discuss the basic concepts and models and explore the implications of new scientific research on restoration practice. The second part considers the dynamics and restoration of different ecosystems, ranging from arid lands to grasslands, woodlands, and savannahs, to forests and wetlands, to production landscapes. A summary chapter by the editors discusses the implications of theory and practice of the ideas described in preceding chapters. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration aims to widen the scope and increase the application of threshold models by critiquing their application in a wide range of ecosystem types. It will also help scientists and restorationists correctly diagnose ecosystem damage, identify restoration thresholds, and develop corrective methodologies that can overcome such thresholds.
Download or read book Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology written by Vicky M. Temperton and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-04-10 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding how ecosystems are assembled -- how the species that make up a particular biological community arrive in an area, survive, and interact with other species -- is key to successfully restoring degraded ecosystems. Yet little attention has been paid to the idea of assembly rules in ecological restoration, in both the scientific literature and in on-the-ground restoration efforts. Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology, edited by Vicky M. Temperton, Richard J. Hobbs, Tim Nuttle, and Stefan Halle, addresses that shortcoming, offering an introduction, overview, and synthesis of the potential role of assembly rules theory in restoration ecology. It brings together information and ideas relating to ecosystem assembly in a restoration context, and includes material from a wide geographic range and a variety of perspectives. Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology contributes new knowledge and ideas to the subjects of assembly rules and restoration ecology and represents an important summary of the current status of an emerging field. It combines theoretical and practical aspects of restoration, making it a vital compendium of information and ideas for restoration ecologists, professionals, and practitioners.
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 Routledge Handbook of Ecological and Environmental Restoration written by Stuart K. Allison and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 621 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecological restoration is a rapidly evolving discipline that is engaged with developing both methodologies and strategies for repairing damaged and polluted ecosystems and environments. During the last decade the rapid pace of climate change coupled with continuing habitat destruction and the spread of non-native species to new habitats has forced restoration ecologists to re-evaluate their goals and the methods they use. This comprehensive handbook brings together an internationally respected group of established and rising experts in the field. The book begins with a description of current practices and the state of knowledge in particular areas of restoration, and then identifies new directions that will help the field achieve increasing levels of future success. Part I provides basic background about ecological and environmental restoration. Part II systematically reviews restoration in key ecosystem types located throughout the world. In Part III, management and policy issues are examined in detail, offering the first comprehensive treatment of policy relevance in the field, while Part IV looks to the future. Ultimately, good ecological restoration depends upon a combination of good science, policy, planning and outreach – all issues that are addressed in this unrivalled volume.
Download or read book The Biology of Disturbed Habitats written by Lawrence R. Walker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing a global summary of the biology of disturbance ecology, this text offers both the conceptual underpinnings and practical advice required to comprehend and address the unprecedented environmental challenges facing humans. It examines both natural and anthropogenic disturbances in aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
Download or read book Ecological Restoration and Environmental Change written by Stuart K. Allison and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a natural habitat? Who can define what is natural when species and ecosystems constantly change over time, with or without human intervention? When a polluted river or degraded landscape is restored from its damaged state, what is the appropriate outcome? With climate change now threatening greater disruption to the stability of ecosystems, how should restoration ecologists respond? Ecological Restoration and Environmental Change addresses and challenges some of these issues which question the core values of the science and practice of restoration ecology. It analyzes the paradox arising from the desire to produce ecological restorations that fit within an historical ecological context, produce positive environmental benefits and also result in landscapes with social meaning. Traditionally restorationists often felt that by producing restorations that matched historic ecosystems they were following nature's plans and human agency played only a small part in restoration. But the author shows that in reality the process of restoration has always been defined by human choices. He examines the development of restoration practice, especially in North America, Europe and Australia, in order to describe different models of restoration with respect to balancing ecological benefit and cultural value. He develops ways to balance more actively these differing areas of concern while planning restorations. The book debates in detail how coming global climate change and the development of novel ecosystems will force us to ask new questions about what we mean by good ecological restoration. When the environment is constantly shifting, restoration to maintain biodiversity, local species, and ecosystem functions becomes even more challenging. It is likely that in the future ecological restoration will become a never-ending, continuously evolving process.
Download or read book Responsible Mining written by Michelle E. Jarvie-Eggart and published by SME. This book was released on 2015-01-08 with total page 806 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mining Can Be Environmentally and Socially Responsible—and Still Profitable Even in this regulated, environmentally aware world, running a mine can be done safely, with combined goals of maximizing both the return on investment from extraction and the positive environmental and social impact that a well-run, responsible mine can offer. Responsible Mining is your comprehensive guide to addressing social and environmental risks at mines in the developed world. This book gathers case studies of best practices across the full range of issues. With examples from four continents, you can learn from both your home territory and around the world. Seventy-two leading mine engineers, forestry scientists, conservationists, environmental consultants, sustainability professionals, and geologists from prominent universities, extraction businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and governments have come together within these pages to lead you safely and profitably toward socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial mining practices. Organized around ten sustainability principles required of International Council on Mining and Metals members (including some of the largest extraction businesses in the world), the book addresses nearly every environmental and social consequence of mining in developed countries, including: · Protecting biodiversity · Minimizing negative impacts on climate change · Interacting appropriately with indigenous peoples · Enhancing the local community and reducing poverty · Reusing and recycling materials · Recovering energy · Recapturing and reusing water · Managing proper storage, reclamation, and disposal of tailings · Restoring the land after ceasing mining operations You will want to make this book required reading for all members of your team who are responsible for environmental compliance, resource recovery, sustainability, energy management, and marketing/public relations to facilitate cross-departmental discussions about how to incorporate best practices into your business plans.
Download or read book Linking Restoration and Ecological Succession written by Lawrence R. Walker and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-16 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This innovative book integrates practical information from restoration projects around the world with the latest developments in successional theory. It recognizes the critical roles of disturbance ecology, landscape ecology, ecological assembly, invasion biology, ecosystem health, and historical ecology in habitat restoration. It argues that restoration within a successional context will best utilize the lessons from each of these disciplines.
Download or read book Ecosystem Collapse and Recovery written by Adrian C. Newton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-22 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines how ecosystems can collapse as a result of human activity, and the ecological processes underlying their subsequent recovery.
Download or read book Plant Invasions in Protected Areas written by Llewellyn C. Foxcroft and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-27 with total page 661 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first comprehensive global review of all aspects of alien plant invasions in protected areas. It provides insights into advances in invasion ecology emanating from work in protected areas, and the link to locally relevant management support for protected areas. The book provides in-depth case studies, illuminating interesting and insightful knowledge that can be shared across the global protected area network. The book includes the collective understanding of 80 ecologists and managers to extract as much information as possible that will support the long-term management of protected areas, and the biodiversity and associated ecosystem services they maintain. “This outstanding volume draws together pretty much all that can be said on this topic, ranging from the science, through policy, to practical action”. Dr. Simon N. Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission, UK. "This important and timely volume addresses two of the most serious problems affecting biodiversity conservation today: assessing the extent to which protected areas are impacted by biological invasions and the complex problems of managing these impacts. Written by leading specialists, it provides a comprehensive overview of the issues and gives detailed examples drawn from protected areas across the world". Professor Vernon H. Heywood, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK
Download or read book Applying Ecosystem and Landscape Models in Natural Resource Management written by Robert E. Keane and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2019-08-15 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Managing today’s lands is becoming an increasingly difficult task. Complex ecological interactions across multiple spatiotemporal scales create diverse landscape responses to management actions that are often novel, counter-intuitive and unexpected. To make matters worse, exotic invasions, human land use, and global climate change complicate this complexity and make past observational ecological studies limited in application to the future. Natural resource professionals can no longer rely on empirical data to analyze alternative actions in a world that is rapidly changing with few historical analogs. New tools are needed to synthesize the high complexity in ecosystem dynamics into useful applications for land management. Some of the best new tools available for this task are ecological and landscape simulation models. However, many land management professionals and scientists have little expertise in simulation modeling, and the costs of training these people will probably be exorbitantly high because most ecosystem and landscape models are exceptionally complicated and difficult to understand and use for local applications. This book was written to provide natural resource professionals with the rudimentary knowledge needed to properly use ecological models and then to interpret their results. It is based on the lessons learned from a career spent modeling ecological systems. It is intended as a reference for novice modelers to learn how to correctly employ ecosystem landscape models in natural resource management applications and to understand subsequent modeling results.
Download or read book Restoration of Multifunctional Cultural Landscapes written by Stefan Zerbe and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-06-27 with total page 723 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers perspectives on how to develop a sustainable global balance of urbanization, land-use intensification, land abandonment, and multifunctional cultural landscapes. The focus is on the latter by describing the large variety of traditional cultural landscapes having evolved through centuries or even millennia by the use of the natural, terrestrial and aquatic resources. Those cultural landscapes encompass pasture, agroforestry, terraced, irrigation, coastal, monastic, and sacred landscapes as well as lake-, river-, and saltscapes. The restoration of low-input land-use systems which often carry a high biodiversity on the species, ecosystem, and landscape level as well as agrobiodiversity and agrodiversity is outlined. The restoration of multifunctional and diverse landscapes, however, is not only an ecological issue but encompasses many socio-economic aspects such as e.g., the revitalization of villages, eco-tourism, healthy food production, infrastructure, and rural-urban partnerships. Global environmental problems, which are related to urbanization and the intensification of the use of land and water resources are comprehensively outlined. Land abandonment which occurs on all continents is qualitatively and quantitatively assessed and the consequences for natural and cultural heritage loss is highlighted. With the presentation of current rural development and landscape conservation strategies on the national as well as international level, the topic reflects the high significance of environmental policy on the global scale. The global implementation of natural and cultural heritage conservation is, for example, given by the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, National Parks, Biosphere Reserves, Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Sites, High Nature Value Farmland, and the Satoyama initiative. However, also the “every-day” landscapes can contribute to biodiversity and strong sustainability. This comprehensive compendium, based on about 4,000 references of scientific studies, literature reviews, project reports, and environmental policy papers is thought for all students, scholars, and stakeholders from multifaceted disciplines, interested in multifunctional cultural landscapes and how traditions and innovation on the landscape level can be merged for a sustainable future on our planet. Case studies from all over the world are presented which can be used in Higher Education or to demonstrate the numerous approaches of sustainable rural development.
Download or read book Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes written by Samantha Capon and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vegetation communities in Australia's riverine landscapes are ecologically, economically and culturally significant. They are also among the most threatened ecosystems on the continent and have been dramatically altered as a result of human activities and climate change. Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes brings together, for the first time, the results of the substantial amount of research that has been conducted over the last few decades into the biology, ecology and management of these important plant communities in Australia. The book is divided into four sections. The first section provides context with respect to the spatial and temporal dimensions of riverine landscapes in Australia. The second section examines key groups of riverine plants, while the third section provides an overview of riverine vegetation in five major regions of Australia, including patterns, significant threats and management. The final section explores critical issues associated with the conservation and management of riverine plants and vegetation, including water management, salinity, fire and restoration. Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes highlights the incredible diversity and dynamic nature of riverine vegetation across Australia, and will be an excellent reference for researchers, academics and environmental consultants.
Download or read book Beyond Naturalness written by David N. Cole and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-06-22 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central concept guiding the management of parks and wilderness over the past century has been “naturalness”—to a large extent the explicit purpose in establishing these special areas was to keep them in their “natural” state. But what does that mean, particularly as the effects of stressors such as habitat fragmentation, altered disturbance regimes, pollution, invasive species, and climate change become both more pronounced and more pervasive? Beyond Naturalness brings together leading scientists and policymakers to explore the concept of naturalness, its varied meanings, and the extent to which it provides adequate guidance regarding where, when, and how managers should intervene in ecosystem processes to protect park and wilderness values. The main conclusion is the idea that naturalness will continue to provide an important touchstone for protected area conservation, but that more specific goals and objectives are needed to guide stewardship. The issues considered in Beyond Naturalness are central not just to conservation of parks, but to many areas of ecological thinking—including the fields of conservation biology and ecological restoration—and represent the cutting edge of discussions of both values and practice in the twenty-first century. This bookoffers excellent writing and focus, along with remarkable clarity of thought on some of the difficult questions being raised in light of new and changing stressors such as global environmental climate change.
Download or read book Landslide Ecology written by Lawrence R. Walker and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Landslides are dangerous, fascinating phenomena: understanding their biological and ecological aspects is essential for achieving slope stability and habitat restoration.
Download or read book Rangeland Systems written by David D. Briske and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-12 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book provides an unprecedented synthesis of the current status of scientific and management knowledge regarding global rangelands and the major challenges that confront them. It has been organized around three major themes. The first summarizes the conceptual advances that have occurred in the rangeland profession. The second addresses the implications of these conceptual advances to management and policy. The third assesses several major challenges confronting global rangelands in the 21st century. This book will compliment applied range management textbooks by describing the conceptual foundation on which the rangeland profession is based. It has been written to be accessible to a broad audience, including ecosystem managers, educators, students and policy makers. The content is founded on the collective experience, knowledge and commitment of 80 authors who have worked in rangelands throughout the world. Their collective contributions indicate that a more comprehensive framework is necessary to address the complex challenges confronting global rangelands. Rangelands represent adaptive social-ecological systems, in which societal values, organizations and capacities are of equal importance to, and interact with, those of ecological processes. A more comprehensive framework for rangeland systems may enable management agencies, and educational, research and policy making organizations to more effectively assess complex problems and develop appropriate solutions.
