Download or read book Rothschild s Reserves written by Miriam Rothschild and published by Brill Academic Pub. This book was released on 1997 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The somewhat enigmatic title of this book, by one of Britain's most distinguished scientists in collaboration with a highly respected natural history writer, belies the arresting nature of its content. Eighty years ago, Miriam Rothschild's father, Charles Rothschild – said by some to have been the inventor of nature conservation in Britain – first proposed the establishment of a network of 280 national nature reserves throughout the country to preserve the cream of its wildlife habitats – a monumental task. In this book she and her co-author discuss the efforts that went into the selection of these reserves and compare the state then and now of 182 of the English sites and their wildlife – depressing reading in many cases.
Download or read book Rothschild s Reserves Time and Fragile Nature written by Miriam Rothschild and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-08-14 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The somewhat enigmatic title of this book, by one of Britain’s most distinguished scientists in collaboration with a highly respected natural history writer, belies the arresting nature of its content. Eighty years ago, Miriam Rothschild’s father, Charles Rothschild – said by some to have been the inventor of nature conservation in Britain – first proposed the establishment of a network of 280 national nature reserves throughout the country to preserve the cream of its wildlife habitats – a monumental task. In this book she and her co-author discuss the efforts that went into the selection of these reserves and compare the state then and now of 182 of the English sites and their wildlife – depressing reading in many cases. The authors hope to spur everyone interested in the survival of the British countryside to take remedial action to safeguard it before it is too late. Published by Balaban in association with Harley Books, now Apollo Books, who are sole UK and European distributors.
Download or read book Why Conserve Nature written by Stephen Trudgill and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-24 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we view nature transforms the world around us. People rehearse stories about nature which make sense to them. If we ask the question 'why conserve nature?', and the answers are based on myths, then are these good myths to have? Scientific knowledge about the environment is fundamental to ideas about how nature works. It is essential to the conservation endeavour. However, any conservation motivation is nested within a society's meanings of nature and the way society values it. Given the therapeutic and psychological significance of nature for us and our culture, this book considers the meanings derived from the poetic and emotional attachment to a sense of place, which is arguably just as important as scientific evidence. The functional significance of species is important, but so too is the therapeutic value of nature, together with the historic and spiritual meanings entwined in a human feeling for landscape and wildlife.
Download or read book The Terrestrial Biosphere written by Steve Trudgill and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-25 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Terrestrial Biosphere tries to pose the questions which underlie the many-sided debate of how to respond to and influence change: How should we view nature? What do we do for the best - how should we act - what are we trying to achieve and what should we be guided by?In doing so the book introduces and attempts to analyse not only scientific aspects of the debate but also cultural attitudes and values: the notions of ecosystem stability are now challenged and it is also clear that ecosystems are renewable but not repeatable. It finds that prescriptive 'solutions' based on current constructs may not be adequate. Feeling that analysis should lead to advocacy, the author believes that if we can't improve predictability, we have to increase adaptability which means that ecological and social capacity building should be advocated. This is seen in terms of concepts, institutions, attitudes and values which allow for a plurality of meanings and which can cope with surprise and unforeseen change - and which also facilitates responses to change.
Download or read book The Aurelian Legacy a History of British Butterflies and their Collectors written by Michael Salmon and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-10-25 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the collecting of butterflies is today an emotive subject, it is impossible to separate a history of British butterflies from a history of their collectors, without whose activities our knowledge of the identification, occurrence, distribution, and variation of British butterflies would be much the poorer. Liberally laced with contemporary quotations, this book brings to life the past three hundred years of butterfly study, with details of early societies, collecting equipment, biographies of 101 deceased lepidopterists, with portraits where available, as well as the chequered history in Britain of some 35 species of butterfly. The colour plates include some of the finest butterfly illustrations ever.
Download or read book Saltmarsh written by Clive Chatters and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-19 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Saltmarshes are often remote, inhospitable places, neither land nor sea, as hard to pin down as they are to navigate. In this saline odyssey, Clive Chatters has explored his favourite creeks, pools and mudflats to bring us an absorbing celebration of the ecology, biology, geology and history of this scarce and mysterious habitat. There are Tadpole Shrimps, and rare sedges, waders and Wild Celery – even inland saltmarshes – in this tour de force by a superb naturalist and writer.“ BRETT WESTWOOD, naturalist, author and radio presenter Saltmarshes are among Britain's most diverse and dynamic landscapes. They abound around our shores but may also be found inland and at altitude – wherever water, salt and vegetation combine. The species they support range from extreme rarities of specialised habitats to the less demanding denizens of coastal wetlands. Here is a landscape of international importance for migratory birds, endemic plants and an exceptional variety of invertebrates. Clive Chatters has a lifetime's affinity with saltmarshes. In this fifth volume of the British Wildlife Collection, he celebrates their natural history and diversity, from the highly distinctive marshes in the Scottish Highlands to the urban remnants of the Thames estuary now engulfed within the capital. By examining the past of these complex habitats, we can gain an insight into how they have developed, and an understanding of their relationship with people. In addition to their exceptionally diverse natural history, saltmarshes are sources of food and medicine, they play a pivotal role in flood defence and carbon sequestration, and have inspired artistic endeavour.
Download or read book New Scientist written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 806 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Invasive and Introduced Plants and Animals written by Ian D. Rotherham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have been many well-publicized cases of invasive species of plants and animals, often introduced unintentionally but sometimes on purpose, causing widespread ecological havoc. Examples of such alien invasions include pernicious weeds such as Japanese knotweed, an introduced garden ornamental which can grow through concrete, the water hyacinth which has choked tropical waterways, and many introduced animals which have out-competed and displaced local fauna. This book addresses the broader context of invasive and exotic species, in terms of the perceived threats and environmental concerns which surround alien species and ecological invasions. As a result of unprecedented scales of environmental change, combined with rapid globalisation, the mixing of cultures and diversity, and fears over biosecurity and bioterrorism, the known impacts of particular invasions have been catastrophic. However, as several chapters show, reactions to some exotic species, and the justifications for interventions in certain situations, including biological control by introduced natural enemies, rest uncomfortably with social reactions to ethnic cleansing and persecution perpetrated across the globe. The role of democracy in deciding and determining environmental policy is another emerging issue. In an increasingly multicultural society this raises huge questions of ethics and choice. At the same time, in order to redress major ecological losses, the science of reintroduction of native species has also come to the fore, and is widely accepted by many in nature conservation. However, with questions of where and when, and with what species or even species analogues, reintroductions are acceptable, the topic is hotly debated. Again, it is shown that many decisions are based on values and perceptions rather than objective science. Including a wide range of case studies from around the world, his book raises critical issues to stimulate a much wider debate.
Download or read book New Scientist and Science Journal written by and published by . This book was released on 1997-12 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Women Scientists written by Magdolna Hargittai and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compilation of sixty biographical sketches of influential female scientists, discussing topics like the state of the modern female scientist and the underrepresentation of women at the higher levels of academia.
Download or read book The Green Web written by Martin Holdgate and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is a history of the world's oldest global conservation body - the World Conservation Union, established in 1948 as a forum for governments, non-governmental organizations and individual conservationists. The author draws on unpublished archives to reveal the often turbulent story of the IUCN and its achievements in, and influence on, conservation and environmental policy worldwide - establishing national parks and protected areas and defending threatened species.
Download or read book The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland written by David L. Hawksworth and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2003-06-26 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Periodic comprehensive overviews of the status of the diverse organisms that make up wildlife are essential to determining trends, threats and future prospects. Just over 25 years ago, leading authorities on different kinds of wildlife came together to prepare an assessment of their status of a wide range of organisms in Great Britain and Ireland in The Changing Flora and Fauna of Britain, also edited by Professor David L. Hawksworth CBE. Now, in The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland, he has gathered together some of the original and also new contributors to review changes since that time and look to the future. Contributions range from viruses, diatoms, fungi, lichens, mites and nematodes; through butterflies, dragonflies, flies and slugs; to flowering plants, ferns, mammals, birds and fish. The state of knowledge in different groups is assessed, and the effectiveness of statutory and other measures taken to safeguard wildlife considered. The picture is far from bleak, ameliorating sulphur dioxide levels have benefited sensitive lichens and mosses in a dramatic way, water quality improvement has been beneficial, there have been few certain extinctions and rediscoveries of species thought to have been lost. Biodiversity Action Plans have also benefited targeted species, but habitat restoration and management for some is not always good for others. But there are worrying trends in declining populations, with an increasing number being regarded as threatened or endangered, especially in agricultural areas, and where woodland management has changed, particular threats from introduced species, and concern over the effects of climate change. Some of the smaller organisms remain poorly known, a situation unlikely to change as expertise in many is scant or being lost. This stock-check and look to the future will be a key source book to conservationists, naturalists, and professional biologists for many years to come.
Download or read book Insect Conservation Past Present and Prospects written by Tim R. New and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-03-14 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of interest and practice in insect conservation is summarised and traced through contributions from many of the leaders in the discipline, to provide the first broad global account of how insects have become incorporated into considerations of conservation. The essays collectively cover the genesis and development of insect conservation, emphasising its strong foundation within the northern temperate regions and the contrasts with much of the rest of the world. Major present-day scenarios are discussed, together with possible developments and priorities in insect conservation for the future.
Download or read book Meadows written by George Peterken and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-11-30 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meadows, the second volume of a major new series of books on British natural history, provides one of the most wide-ranging and eloquent treatments of this most quintessential British habitat. Yet the flower-rich hay meadows that have inspired writers and artists for hundreds of years have almost disappeared from our countryside. In this exceptional work, George Peterken, one of our most respected ecologists, brings together years of research and discovery from his travels across Britain and Europe, as well as an understanding borne out of caring for his own meadows, to produce a book that will put this often misunderstood habitat back in the public's eye. Filled with beautiful images of meadows and their denizens, this is a book everyone with an interest in this iconic habitat will want to own.
Download or read book The Aurelian Legacy written by Michael A. Salmon and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This entertaining and informative book traces the history of butterfly collection in Britain from the 17th century, when the study of natural history had its beginnings. Laced with anecdotes and quotations, the beautifully illustrated volume describes the equipment used and gives brief biographies of 101 deceased lepidopterists. 58 illustrations, 42 in color.
Download or read book Plant Microevolution and Conservation in Human influenced Ecosystems written by David Briggs and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-26 with total page 619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With particular emphasis on plants, this thought-provoking text examines the implications of human influences on micro-evolutionary processes.
Download or read book Birds in England written by Andy Brown and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-06-30 with total page 1370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Poyser avifaunas Birds in Scotland, Birds in Ireland and Birds in Wales are all now regarded as classic works. The series is now completed with Birds in England, an avifauna for England's diverse birdlife, past and present. England marks the northwestern limit for many Palearctic breeding birds, and is close to the southwestern limit for several others - in particular, several seabird species whose English colonies are of international significance. It is the first point of arrival for new colonists from the south - Little Egret and Yellow-legged Gull are two recent arrivals - and it is also of international importance for wintering and passage populations of various species which breed in the far north of the Palearctic. A diverse and fascinating avifauna is augmented by visits from an impressive range of rarities from as far afield as Siberia and Canada - Nearctic vagrants in particular are well-represented on the English list. This important new avifauna looks in detail at England and its birds, analysing present and historical data to present a complete picture of the status, range and abundance of every bird on the English list.
