Download or read book Tropical Forest Ecosystems Structure and Function written by V.P. Singh and published by Scientific Publishers. This book was released on 2004-10-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tropical forests are vital for social, economic and ecological reasons. They play an important role in ecosystem processes [ such as the biogeochemical and hydrological cycle ] they provide habitat for wildlife and serve as source of biodiversity and they offer protection against soil erosion [Kremen et al., 2000 and Condit et al., 2002]. The forest contains large trees standing, 30 to 50 meters in height, creating continuous canopy of foliage. The enclosed canopy, shades tree forest floor, inhibiting the development of much undergrowth, creating an open forest formation. Piercing into the tree canopy, reveals a multistory appearance of broad leaf, evergreen vegetation. The forest is a treasure trove of different animal and plant species. Forest and woodlands cover nearly 40% of the earth’s land surface and they are the most biologically diverse ecosystems in most part of the world. The tropics consist of a diversity, occurring between the latitudes of the tropic of Cancer and the tropics of Capricon, north and south of the equator. These ecosystems are currently experiencing the highest rates of destruction in the world. More than 90% of dry forests have been destroyed and less than 2% of what remains is protected. Because of the climatic and forest structure, dry forests are easier to clear for agriculture, the soil is more fertile and the land is more suitable for livestock. Forest area has increased slightly since 1980 in industrial countries, but, has declined by almost 10% in developing countries. Tropical deforestation probably exceeds 1,30,000 sq. km a year. Less than 40% of forest globally are relatively undisturbed by human action. Many developing countries today, rely on timber for export earnings, at the same time; millions of people in tropical countries still depend on forests to meet their every need. Since time immemorial, forest has provided a valuable source of economic life for human populations. Yet, the ways in which, forests are used and valued, depends largely on people’s economic needs and priorities in a particular place or at a particular time, balanced against the relative scarcity or abundance of forest resources. Over recent years, a complex array of social, economic and political changes have altered human demands on forest. These changing demands have had devastating impact on forest status and integrity. This book is an outcome of the own work, experience and research on tropical forest for the last 30 years. I hope, this will provide to readers, concise, sufficient and recent information on tropical forest of the world.
Download or read book Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems written by H. Lieth and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2012-12-02 with total page 733 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After publication of the first volume of the Tropical Rain Forest, the International Journal of Mycology and Lichenology commented ``This is a welcome addition to the literature on the ecology of tropical rain forests. The book provides a wealth of data and stimulating discussions and is of great interest to ecologists interested in tropical areas.'' Whereas the first volume dealt with system-ecological aspects such as community organization and processes, the present volume concentrates on biogeographical aspects such as species composition, diversity, and geographical variation.Recent ecological research in the tropical rain forest has greatly extended our understanding of biogeographical patterns of variation in the various groups of organisms, and has revealed many of the ecological and evolutionary forces that led to the present patterns of variation. Many important systems of co-evolution between the tropical rain forest ecosystems have also come to light, and the loss of species and related damage is better understood in quantitative terms.This volume presents a comprehensive review of these and other features of the rain forest ecosystem structure, and the ecological processes operating that system. General chapters on abiotic and biotic factors are followed by specific chapters on all major groups of organisms. Prospects for the future are discussed and research needs clearly stated. Also the human exploitation of the system, its effects and its limits are discussed. The book is extensively illustrated by photographs, graphs, and tables, and comprehensive bibliographies follow each chapter. Author, systematic and subject indices complete the book.It is a must for all ecologists, agriculturists, foresters, agronomists, hydrologists, soil scientists, entomologists, human ecologists, nature conservationists, and planners dealing with tropical areas. Biologists and environmentalists will also find the volume of great interest.
Download or read book Forest Ecosystems written by David A. Perry and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2008-07-24 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2009 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers. The authors provide an inclusive survey of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests with an emphasis on ecological concepts across scales that range from global to landscape to microscopic. Situating forests in the context of larger landscapes, they reveal the complex patterns and processes observed in tree-dominated habitats. The updated and expanded second edition covers • Conservation • Ecosystem services • Climate change • Vegetation classification • Disturbance • Species interactions • Self-thinning • Genetics • Soil influences • Productivity • Biogeochemical cycling • Mineralization • Effects of herbivory • Ecosystem stability
Download or read book Tropical Ecosystems Structure Functions and Challenges in the Face of Global Change written by Satish Chandra Garkoti and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-09-24 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book brings together research topics having a broad focus on human and climate change impacts on the terrestrial ecosystems in the tropics in general and more specifically from the most significant and vulnerable Himalayan ecosystem. A total of 16 contributions included in the book cover a diverse range of global change themes such as the impacts of changing temperature and precipitation on soil ecosystems, forest degradation, extent and impacts of invasive species, plant responses to pollution, climate change impacts on biodiversity and tree phenology, environmental changes associated with land use, importance of traditional knowledge in climate change adaptation, timberline ecosystems, and role of integrated landscape modeling for sustainable management of natural resources. The book is a collective endeavour of an international multidisciplinary group of scientists focused on improving our understanding of the impacts of global change on the structure and functioning of tropical ecosystems and addressing the challenges of their future sustainable management. We hope that the book will help researchers working in the areas of ecology and environmental science to update their knowledge. We also expect that natural resource managers and policy planners will find explanations for some of their observations and hypotheses on multiple global change factors impacting tropical ecosystems and especially Himalayan ecosystems.
Download or read book Tropical Rainforest Research Current Issues written by D.S. Edwards and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proceedings of the conference held in Bandar Seri Begawan, April 1993
Download or read book Ecosystem Consequences of Soil Warming written by Jacqueline E. Mohan and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-04-13 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecosystem Consequences of Soil Warming: Microbes, Vegetation, Fauna and Soil Biogeochemistry focuses on biotic and biogeochemical responses to warmer soils including plant and microbial evolution. It covers various field settings, such as arctic tundra; alpine meadows; temperate, tropical and subalpine forests; drylands; and grassland ecosystems. Information integrates multiple natural science disciplines, providing a holistic, integrative approach that will help readers understand and forecast future planetwide responses to soil warming. Students and educators will find this book informative for understanding biotic and biogeochemical responses to changing climatic conditions. Scientists from a wide range of disciplines, including soil scientists, ecologists, geneticists, as well as molecular, evolutionary and conservation biologists, will find this book a valuable resource in understanding and planning for warmer climate conditions.
Download or read book Forest Canopies written by Margaret Lowman and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2004-09 with total page 543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The treetops of the world's forests are where discovery and opportunity abound, however they have been relatively inaccessible until recently. This book represents an authoritative synthesis of data, anecdotes, case studies, observations, and recommendations from researchers and educators who have risked life and limb in their advocacy of the High Frontier. With innovative rope techniques, cranes, walkways, dirigibles, and towers, they finally gained access to the rich biodiversity that lives far above the forest floor and the emerging science of canopy ecology. In this new edition of Forest Canopies, nearly 60 scientists and educators from around the world look at the biodiversity, ecology, evolution, and conservation of forest canopy ecosystems. Comprehensive literature list State-of-the-art results and data sets from current field work Foremost scientists in the field of canopy ecology Expanded collaboration of researchers and international projects User-friendly format with sidebars and case studies Keywords and outlines for each chapter
Download or read book Encyclopedia of the World s Biomes written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2020-06-26 with total page 3542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes is a unique, five volume reference that provides a global synthesis of biomes, including the latest science. All of the book's chapters follow a common thematic order that spans biodiversity importance, principal anthropogenic stressors and trends, changing climatic conditions, and conservation strategies for maintaining biomes in an increasingly human-dominated world. This work is a one-stop shop that gives users access to up-to-date, informative articles that go deeper in content than any currently available publication. Offers students and researchers a one-stop shop for information currently only available in scattered or non-technical sources Authored and edited by top scientists in the field Concisely written to guide the reader though the topic Includes meaningful illustrations and suggests further reading for those needing more specific information
Download or read book Environmental Systems Science written by Daniel A. Vallero and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-05-27 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental Systems Science: Theory and Practical Applications looks at pollution and environmental quality from a systems perspective. Credible human and ecological risk estimation and prediction methods are described, including life cycle assessment, feasibility studies, pollution control decision tools, and approaches to determine adverse outcome pathways, fate and transport, sampling and analysis, and cost-effectiveness. The book brings translational science to environmental quality, applying groundbreaking methodologies like informatics, data mining, and applications of secondary data systems. Multiple human and ecological variables are introduced and integrated to support calculations that aid environmental and public health decision making. The book bridges the perspectives of scientists, engineers, and other professionals working in numerous environmental and public health fields addressing problems like toxic substances, deforestation, climate change, and loss of biological diversity, recommending sustainable solutions to these and other seemingly intractable environmental problems. The causal agents discussed include physical, chemical, and biological agents, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 virus), and other emerging contaminants. - Provides an optimistic and interdisciplinary approach, underpinned by scientific first principles and theory to evaluate pollutant sources and sinks, applying biochemodynamic methods, measurements and models - Deconstructs prior initiatives in environmental assessment and management using an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate what has worked and why - Lays out a holistic understanding of the real impact of human activities on the current state of pollution, linking the physical sciences and engineering with socioeconomic, cultural perspectives, and environmental justice - Takes a life cycle view of human and ecological systems, from the molecular to the planetary scale, integrating theories and tools from various disciplines to assess the current and projected states of environmental quality - Explains the elements of risk, reliability and resilience of built and natural systems, including discussions of toxicology, sustainability, and human-pollutant interactions based on spatial, biological, and human activity information, i.e. the exposome
Download or read book Ecology of Insular Southeast Asia written by Friedhelm Goltenboth and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2006-12-07 with total page 569 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The textbook entitled Tropical Ecology of Southeast Asia – The Indonesian Archipelago unfolds in its 5 major chapters with 20 subchapters on more than 500 pages, with more than 300 figures, the basic principles of ecology with examples mainly coming from the Indonesian Archipelago. After an introduction describing the geography, geology and climate of the region, the second chapter is dedicated to marine and freshwater ecosystems. Chapters on the functional ecology of seagrass beds, coral reefs, open ocean and deep sea are followed by information on lotic and lentic freshwater ecosystems. In chapter III ecotones and special ecosystems of the achipelago are in focus. The ecology and ecosystems of shore and tidal flats, mangroves, estuaries and soft bottom shores, caves, small islands, grasslands and savannas are decribed. The forest ecosystems with beach forest, tropical lowland evergreen rainforest, some special forest systems and mountain forests form the contents of chapter IV. The final chapter V is dealing with agroecosystems and human ecology. The main focus in this chapter is ricefield ecology, landuse systems and social ecology, including the advent of man and the development and expansion of man influencing this achipelago. An extended glossary and bibliography is added as well as tables of abbreviations, conversion factors, international system of units and measurements or SI and a geological time table and systematics. The index gives assess to important keywords and relevant information spread thoughout the contents of the book. The textbook will certainly be useful to teachers, lecturers and their students at university and college level. It also gives an overview about insular ecology of the vast Indonesian archipelago to any interested person or working ecologist.* Focuses on the tropical ecology and insular ecosystems and biodiversity of Indonesia, as well as the agroecology of humid tropics * Contains over 300 figures * Provides an extended glossary and bibliography, as well as tables of abbreviations, converstion factors, international system of units and a geological time table * Easy-to-use index gives access to important keywords used throughout the text
Download or read book Physiological Ecology of Tropical Plants written by Ulrich Lüttge and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This richly illustrated text covers the ecophysiology of plants of all major tropical ecosystems, from tropical rain forests, epiphytic habitats, mangroves and savannas to salinas, inselbergs and paramos and their ecophysiological adaptation to these different tropical environments. The physiognomy of biotopes and characteristic life forms of plants are depicted with photographs.
Download or read book Living in a Dynamic Tropical Forest Landscape written by Nigel Stork and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-01-26 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together a wealth of scientific findings andecological knowledge to survey what we have learned about the“Wet Tropics” rainforests of North Queensland,Australia. This interdisciplinary text is the first book to providesuch a holistic view of any tropical forest environment, includingthe social and economic dimensions. The most thorough assessment of a tropical forest landscape todate Explores significant scientific breakthroughs in areasincluding conservation genetics, vegetation modeling, agroforestryand revegetation techniques, biodiversity assessment and modeling,impacts of climate change, and the integration of science innatural resource management Research achieved, in part, due to the Cooperative ResearchCentre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management (theRainforest CRC) Written by a number of distinguished internationalexperts contains chapter summaries and section commentaries
Download or read book Rainforest Ecosystems of East Kalimantan written by Edi Guhardja and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the late 1960s the Indonesian state of East Kalimantan has witnessed a marked increase in the impact of human activities chiefly commercial logging and agricultural exploitation. Located on the island of Borneo, East Kalimantan also was subjected to prolonged droughts and extensive wildfires in 1982-83 and 1997-98 that were linked to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. The changes in the rainforest ecosystem in East Kalimantan during this 15-year cycle of severe ENSO events are the subject of this book. With an eye toward development of rehabilitation techniques for sustainable forest management, the authors examine possible interactive effects of drought, fire, and human impacts on the flora and fauna of the area.
Download or read book Dryland Ecohydrology written by Paolo D'Odorico and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-09 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecohydrology emerges as a new field of research aiming at furthering our understanding of the earth system through the study of the interactions between the water cycle and vegetation. By combining the analysis of biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, this volume provides a synthesis of material on arid and semiarid landscapes, which is currently spread in a number of books and journal articles. The focus on water-limited ecosystems is motivated by their high sensitivity to daily, seasonal, and decadal perturbations in water availability, and by the ecologic, climatic, and economic significance of most of the drylands around the world. Conceived as a tool for scientists working in the area of the earth and environmental sciences, this book presents the basic principles of eco-hydrology as well as a broad spectrum of topics and advances in this research field. The chapters collected in this book have been contributed by authors with different expertise, who work in several arid areas around the World. They describe the various interactions among the biological and physical dynamics in dryland ecosystems, starting from basic processes in the soil-vegetation-climate system, to landscape-scale hydrologic and geomorphic processes, ecohydrologic controls on soil nutrient dynamics, and multiscale analyses of disturbances and patterns.
Download or read book Physiological Plant Ecology IV written by O. L. Lange and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: O. L. LANGE, P. S. NOBEL, C. B. OSMOND, and H. ZIEGLER In the last volume of the series 'Physiological Plant Ecology' we have asked contributors to address the bases of ecosystem processes in terms of key plant physiological properties. It has often been suggested that it is not profitable to attempt analysis of complex living systems in terms of the properties of component individuals or populations, i. e. , the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Nevertheless, assessments of ecological research over the last century show that other approaches are seldom more helpful. Although it is possible to describe complex systems of living organisms in holistic terms, the most useful descriptions are found in terms of the birth, growth and death of individ uals. This allows analysis of performance of the parts of the whole considering their synergistic and antagonistic interrelationships and is the basis for a synthe sis which elucidates the specific properties of a system. Thus it seems that the description of ecosystem processes is inevitably anchored in physiological under standing. If enquiry into complex living systems is to remain a scientific exercise, it must retain tangible links with physiology. Of course, as was emphasized in Vol. 12A, not all of our physiological understanding is required to explore ecosystem processes. For pragmatic purposes, the whole may be adequantely represented as a good deal less than the sum of its parts.
Download or read book Biodiversity Structure and Function Volume II written by Wilhelm Barthlott and published by EOLSS Publications. This book was released on 2009-08-19 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity: Structure and Function is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Biodiversity: Structure and Function discusses matters of great relevance to our world such as: Characterization of Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning; Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Biodiversity Dynamics; Evolutionary and Genetic Aspects of Biodiversity; Biodiversity Monitoring, Assessment, Data Management, and Indicators; The Value of Biodiversity; Halting Biodiversity Loss: Fundamentals and Latest Trends of Conservation Science and Action; Application of Ecological Knowledge to Habitat Restoration. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.
Download or read book Productivity of World Ecosystems written by International Council of Scientific Unions. Special Committee for the International Biological Programme and published by National Academies. This book was released on 1975 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Papers are concerned with the worldwide study of organic production on the land, in fresh waters, and in the seas, and the potentialities and uses of new as well as of existing natural resources. They examine the productivity of oceans, fresh water, grassland, desert, temperate forests and tundra.
