Download or read book Riverine Ecosystem Management written by Stefan Schmutz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book surveys the frontier of scientific river research and provides examples to guide management towards a sustainable future of riverine ecosystems. Principal structures and functions of the biogeosphere of rivers are explained; key threats are identified, and effective solutions for restoration and mitigation are provided. Rivers are among the most threatened ecosystems of the world. They increasingly suffer from pollution, water abstraction, river channelisation and damming. Fundamental knowledge of ecosystem structure and function is necessary to understand how human acitivities interfere with natural processes and which interventions are feasible to rectify this. Modern water legislation strives for sustainable water resource management and protection of important habitats and species. However, decision makers would benefit from more profound understanding of ecosystem degradation processes and of innovative methodologies and tools for efficient mitigation and restoration. The book provides best-practice examples of sustainable river management from on-site studies, European-wide analyses and case studies from other parts of the world. This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of aquatic ecology, river system functioning, conservation and restoration, to postgraduate students, to institutions involved in water management, and to water related industries.
Download or read book Impacts of Large Dams A Global Assessment written by Cecilia Tortajada and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most controversial issues of the water sector in recent years has been the impacts of large dams. Proponents have claimed that such structures are essential to meet the increasing water demands of the world and that their overall societal benefits far outweight the costs. In contrast, the opponents claim that social and environmental costs of large dams far exceed their benefits, and that the era of construction of large dams is over. A major reason as to why there is no consensus on the overall benefits of large dams is because objective, authoritative and comprehensive evaluations of their impacts, especially ten or more years after their construction, are conspicuous by their absence. This book debates impartially, comprehensively and objectively, the positive and negative impacts of large dams based on facts, figures and authoritative analyses. These in-depth case studies are expected to promote a healthy and balanced debate on the needs, impacts and relevance of large dams, with case studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America.
Download or read book Water Quality for Ecosystem and Human Health written by Geneviève M. Carr and published by UNEP/Earthprint. This book was released on 2008 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document is intended to provide an overview of the major components of surface and ground water quality and how these relate to ecosystem and human health. Local, regional and global assessments of water quality monitoring data are used to illustrate key features of aquatic environments, and to demonstrate how human activities on the landscape can influence water quality in both positive and negative ways. Clear and concise background knowledge on water quality can serve to support other water assessments.
Download or read book Environmental Flow Assessment written by John G. Williams and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-06-10 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides critiques of current practices for environmental flow assessment and shows how they can be improved, using case studies. In Environmental Flow Assessment: Methods and Applications, four leading experts critique methods used to manage flows in regulated streams and rivers to balance environmental (instream) and out-of-stream uses of water. Intended for managers as well as practitioners, the book dissects the shortcomings of commonly used approaches, and offers practical advice for selecting and implementing better ones. The authors argue that methods for environmental flow assessment (EFA) can be defensible as well as practicable only if they squarely address uncertainty, and provide guidance for doing so. Introductory chapters describe the scientific and social reasons that EFA is hard, and provide a brief history. Because management of regulated streams starts with understanding freshwater ecosystems, Environmental Flow Assessment: Methods and Applications includes chapters on flow and organisms in streams. The following chapters assess standard and emerging methods, how they should be tested, and how they should (or should not) be applied. The book concludes with practical recommendations for implementing environmental flow assessment. Describes historical and recent trends in environmental flow assessment Directly addresses practical difficulties with applying a scientifically informed approach in contentious circumstances Serves as an effective introduction to the relevant literature, with many references to articles in related scientific fields Pays close attention to statistical issues such as sampling, estimation of statistical uncertainty, and model selection Includes recommendations for methods and approaches Examines how methods have been tested in the past and shows how they should be tested today and in the future Environmental Flow Assessment: Methods and Applications is an excellent book for biologists and specialists in allied fields such as engineering, ecology, fluvial geomorphology, environmental planning, landscape architecture, along with river managers and decision makers.
Download or read book Dams and Development in China written by Bryan Tilt and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-12-02 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China is home to half of the world's large dams and adds dozens more each year. The benefits are considerable: dams deliver hydropower, provide reliable irrigation water, protect people and farmland against flooding, and produce hydroelectricity in a nation with a seeimingly insatiable appetite for energy. As hydropower responds to a larger share of energy demand, dams may also help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, welcome news in a country where air and water pollution have become dire and greenhouse gas emissions are the highest in the world. Yet the advantages of dams come at a high cost for river ecosystems and for the social and economic well-being of local people, who face displacement and farmland loss. This book examines the array of water-management decisions faced by Chinese leaders and their consequences for local communities. Focusing on the southwestern province of Yunnan—a major hub for hydropower development in China—which encompasses one of the world's most biodiverse temperate ecosystems and one of China's most ethnically and culturally rich regions, Bryan Tilt takes the reader from the halls of decision-making power in Beijing to Yunnan's rural villages. In the process, he examines the contrasting values of government agencies, hydropower corporations, NGOs, and local communities and explores how these values are linked to longstanding cultural norms about what is right, proper, and just. He also considers the various strategies these groups use to influence water-resource policy, including advocacy, petitioning, and public protest. Drawing on a decade of research, he offers his insights on whether the world's most populous nation will adopt greater transparency, increased scientific collaboration, and broader public participation as it continues to grow economically.
Download or read book Environmental ScienceBites written by Kylienne A. Clark and published by The Ohio State University. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book was written by undergraduate students at The Ohio State University (OSU) who were enrolled in the class Introduction to Environmental Science. The chapters describe some of Earth's major environmental challenges and discuss ways that humans are using cutting-edge science and engineering to provide sustainable solutions to these problems. Topics are as diverse as the students, who represent virtually every department, school and college at OSU. The environmental issue that is described in each chapter is particularly important to the author, who hopes that their story will serve as inspiration to protect Earth for all life.
Download or read book Dams and Rivers written by Michael Collier and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outlines the role of science in restoring or otherwise altering unwanted downstream effects of dams, including eroding river banks, changes in waterfowl habitat, threats to safe recreational use, and the loss of river sand bars, examining seven selected areas of the country -- the upper Salt River in central Arizona; the Snake River in Idaho, Oregon and Washington; the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas; the Chattahoochee River in Georgia; the Platte River in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska; the Green River in Utah; and the Colorado River in Arizona -- to focus on specific downstream effects of dams and the management issues related to their operation.
Download or read book Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aldo Leopold, father of the "land ethic," once said, "The time has come for science to busy itself with the earth itself. The first step is to reconstruct a sample of what we had to begin with." The concept he expressedâ€"restorationâ€"is defined in this comprehensive new volume that examines the prospects for repairing the damage society has done to the nation's aquatic resources: lakes, rivers and streams, and wetlands. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems outlines a national strategy for aquatic restoration, with practical recommendations, and features case studies of aquatic restoration activities around the country. The committee examines: Key concepts and techniques used in restoration. Common factors in successful restoration efforts. Threats to the health of the nation's aquatic ecosystems. Approaches to evaluation before, during, and after a restoration project. The emerging specialties of restoration and landscape ecology.
Download or read book Water Quality and Fish Health written by Zdeňka Svobodová and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 1993 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dams and Development written by World Commission on Dams and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-13 with total page 834 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the year 2000, the world had built more than 45,000 large dams to irrigate crops, generate power, control floods in wet times and store water in dry times. Yet, in the last century, large dams also disrupted the ecology of half the world's rivers, displaced tens of millions of people from their homes and left nations burdened with debt. Their impacts have inevitably generated growing controversy and conflicts. Resolving their role in meeting water and energy needs is vital for the future and illustrates the complex development challenges that face our societies. The Report of the World Commission on Dams: - is the product of an unprecedented global public policy effort to bring governments, the private sector and civil society together in one process - provides the first comprehensive global and independent review of the performance and impacts of dams - presents a new framework for water and energy resources development - develops an agenda of seven strategic priorities with corresponding criteria and guidelines for future decision-making. Challenging our assumptions, the Commission sets before us the hard, rigorous and clear-eyed evidence of exactly why nations decide to build dams and how dams can affect human, plant and animal life, for better or for worse. Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-Making is vital reading on the future of dams as well as the changing development context where new voices, choices and options leave little room for a business-as-usual scenario.
Download or read book Methods in Stream Ecology written by F. Richard Hauer and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2011-04-27 with total page 894 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Methods in Stream Ecology, Second Edition, provides a complete series of field and laboratory protocols in stream ecology that are ideal for teaching or conducting research. This updated edition reflects recent advances in the technology associated with ecological assessment of streams, including remote sensing. In addition, the relationship between stream flow and alluviation has been added, and a new chapter on riparian zones is also included. The book features exercises in each chapter; detailed instructions, illustrations, formulae, and data sheets for in-field research for students; and taxanomic keys to common stream invertebrates and algae. With a student-friendly price, this book is key for all students and researchers in stream and freshwater ecology, freshwater biology, marine ecology, and river ecology. This text is also supportive as a supplementary text for courses in watershed ecology/science, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, and landscape ecology. - Exercises in each chapter - Detailed instructions, illustrations, formulae, and data sheets for in-field research for students - Taxanomic keys to common stream invertebrates and algae - Link from Chapter 22: FISH COMMUNITY COMPOSITION to an interactive program for assessing and modeling fish numbers
Download or read book The Aeration Capacity of Streams written by Walter Basil Langbein and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Streams written by Colbert E. Cushing and published by Gulf Professional Publishing. This book was released on 2001-09-07 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ecology of rivers and streams; Types of rivers; The biota of rivers; Management, conservation, and restoration of rivers.
Download or read book The Ripple Effect written by Alex Prud'homme and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-06-07 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: AS ALEX PRUD’HOMME and his great-aunt Julia Child were completing their collaboration on her memoir, My Life in France, they began to talk about the French obsession with bottled water, which had finally spread to America. From this spark of interest, Prud’homme began what would become an ambitious quest to understand the evolving story of freshwater. What he found was shocking: as the climate warms and world population grows, demand for water has surged, but supplies of freshwater are static or dropping, and new threats to water quality appear every day. The Ripple Effect is Prud’homme’s vivid and engaging inquiry into the fate of freshwater in the twenty-first century. The questions he sought to answer were urgent: Will there be enough water to satisfy demand? What are the threats to its quality? What is the state of our water infrastructure—both the pipes that bring us freshwater and the levees that keep it out? How secure is our water supply from natural disasters and terrorist attacks? Can we create new sources for our water supply through scientific innovation? Is water a right like air or a commodity like oil—and who should control the tap? Will the wars of the twenty-first century be fought over water? Like Daniel Yergin’s classic The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, Prud’homme’s The Ripple Effect is a masterwork of investigation and dramatic narrative. With striking instincts for a revelatory story, Prud’homme introduces readers to an array of colorful, obsessive, brilliant—and sometimes shadowy—characters through whom these issues come alive. Prud’homme traversed the country, and he takes readers into the heart of the daily dramas that will determine the future of this essential resource—from the alleged murder of a water scientist in a New Jersey purification plant, to the epic confrontation between salmon fishermen and copper miners in Alaska, to the poisoning of Wisconsin wells, to the epidemic of intersex fish in the Chesapeake Bay, to the wars over fracking for natural gas. Michael Pollan has changed the way we think about the food we eat; Alex Prud’homme will change the way we think about the water we drink. Informative and provocative, The Ripple Effect is a major achievement.
Download or read book Methods to Study Litter Decomposition written by Manuel A.S. Graça and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-04-05 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The primary objective of this book is to provide students and laboratory instructors at universities and professional ecologists with a broad range of established methods to study plant litter decomposition. Detailed protocols for direct use in the field or laboratory are presented in an easy to follow step-by-step format. A short introduction to each protocol reviews the ecological significance and principles of the technique and points to key references.
Download or read book Biological Effects of Surfactants written by S.A. Ostroumov and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2005-12-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering a new perspective on the hazards of pollution, Biological Effects of Surfactants examines the effects of anionic, non-ionic, cationic surfactants, and detergents on a wide range of organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. The author establishes new quantitative characteristics of the effects and presents study results on newly discovered phenomena. While proposing and substantiating new priorities and approaches for testing, assessing, and characterizing the biological activities and hazards of substances, the book illustrates how the data obtained can be used to develop effective environmental remediation and protection measures to improve water quality.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs written by Lars Bengtsson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-06-25 with total page 954 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lakes and reservoirs hold about 90% of the world's surface fresh water, but overuse, water withdrawal and pollution of these bodies puts some one billion people at risk. The Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs reviews the physical, chemical and ecological characteristics of lakes and reservoirs, and describes their uses and environmental state trends in different parts of the world. Superbly illustrated throughout, it includes some 200 entries in a range of topics, including acidification, artificialisation, canals, climate change effects, dams, dew ponds, drainage, eutrofication, evaporation, fisheries, hydro-electric power, nutrients, organic pollution, paleolimnology, reservoir capacities and depths, sedimentation, water resources and more.
