Download or read book Atlas of Mediterranean Environments in Europe written by Paola Mairota and published by Wiley. This book was released on 1997-12-11 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mediterranean countries of Europe have been undergoing rapid change and development over the last thirty years and especially during the last ten. These changes have occurred in all aspects of life and livelihood, and for many countries such change has had far reaching social and economic impacts. In addition, the results of centuries of distinctive man environment relationships in a climatically marginal region have been swept aside and the landscape itself is undergoing a rapid transformation. Large areas are being abandoned temporarily or permanently by rural populations; urban growth is rampant; agriculture has been intensified; and water scarcity, fed by the severe droughts of the 1980s and 1990s, has become a major environmental and resource concern. At the same time the threat of global climate change and the indication of deeper and more sustained future droughts has brought these issues into sharp focus. Based on the findings of the European Community s Medalus Project, this Atlas brings to a wide audience the background to and a contemporary understanding of the environmental crisis, which is now facing the Mediterranean region of Europe, as well as the future prospects for a solution.
Download or read book Water Scarcity Land Degradation and Desertification in the Mediterranean Region written by Jose Rubio and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-05-03 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the suggestions made by the speakers of Plenary Session IV “Ch- lenges to the management of water resources and to countering deserti cation in the Mediterranean region” during the 15th Economic and Environmental Forum, the OCEEA proposed to organize a workshop on “Water Scarcity, Land Degra- tion and Deserti cation in the Mediterranean region – Environment and Security Aspects”. In order to build on common synergies, OSCE sought co-operation with c- leagues from NATO, in particular from the Science for Peace and Security P- gramme. NATO has a longstanding expertise on the issue and had organised in Valencia, in December 2003, a NATO scienti c workshop on “Deserti cation and Security in the Mediterranean Region”. The objective of the new proposed wo- shop would be to broaden its focus from the scienti c community to include also policy makers. 1 The workshop, aimed at government of cials from the Mediterranean Region, gathered representatives of Water management, Land degradation and Desert- cation Departments of Ministries of Environment and representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. In addition, policy makers, scientists and experts were also invited. The aim was to discuss how the OSCE, NATO and other c- petent organizations like the UNCCD, UNEP, MAP, and the EU could play a role in ensuring that environment and security linkages in terms of water scarcity, land degradation and deserti cation are addressed in the Mediterranean Region.
Download or read book The Environment written by Chris C. Park and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of this fully integrated introductory text for courses in environmental studies and physical geography builds on the resounding success of the first edition, providing a comprehensive account of modern environmental issues and the physical and socio-economic framework in which they are set. It explains the principles and applications of the different parts of the Earth's system: the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and the biosphere, and explains the interrelationships within and between these systems. It explores the present environmental crisis, examines how the planet Earth fits into the wider universe and explores human-environment interactions.
Download or read book Mediterranean Ecogeography written by Harriett Allen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-25 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A core textbook series that aims to provide students with accessible, up-to-date accounts of Ecogeography - the marriage of ecology with geography - in the primary terrestrial and marine environments. This is the first book in the series on Mediterranean Ecogeography. Biological diversity in the Mediterranean Basin is amongst the highest of any region on earth, both in terms of total species numbers and endemism. The flora is estimated at about 25,000 species of flowering plants and ferns, compared with about 6000 species in non-Mediterranean Europe. About 50% of these are endemic. Diversity amongst vertebrate animals is also high, though endemism rates are lower than for plants. The high levels of diversity contribute to, and are a reflection of, the considerable variability of landscape. This results from a combination of factors including geological and tectonic history, relief and physiography, climate, geomorphological processes, hydrology, soils, the incidence of fires and impact of human activities. The landscapes of the Mediterranean Basin are thus varied and fragmented; a mosaic of ecosystems and communities. Mediterranean Ecogeography aims to examine and explain this heterogeneity, and the approach is focused on the ecogeography of the region. Analysing the factors which account for the present distributions of plants and animals, and the functioning of ecosystems within the Mediterranean Basin can help in the understanding of the relationship between people and natural ecosystems. A key to the conservation of these ecosystems is the wise use of resources, biological and physical. In addition, it is vital to assess how the natural environments of the region will respond to further change. In the last twenty years, understanding of the functioning of mediterranean-type ecosystems has advanced through several international projects. This book draws upon the findings of these, and other research in the Mediterranean Basin, to present a comprehensive text on a key region of the world, and the problems and prospects of its environmental exploitation.
Download or read book Environmental Issues in the Mediterranean written by John B. Thornes and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-03 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mediterranean has been subject to changing human settlement and land use patterns for millennia. This book reviews both physical and social aspects of this region, in relation to its environment.
Download or read book Mediterranean Desertification written by N. A. Geeson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2003-04-11 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Desertification includes land degradation due to both climatic and anthropogenic causes, where land includes water, soil, and the biosphere. This book presents the most recent findings from the European Community's MEDALUS project, which was formed to understand and manage semi-arid environments that are undergoing great change. * Covers climate and land use processes and responses in the Mediterranean * First book to provide guidelines for the management of land degradation in Mediterranean environments * Based on first-hand experience of the problems by those responsible for solving them
Download or read book Old Fields written by Richard J. Hobbs and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-06-22 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Land abandonment is increasing as human influence on the globe intensifies and various ecological, social, and economic factors conspire to force the cessation of agriculture and other forms of land management. The “old fields” that result from abandonment have been the subject of much study, yet few attempts have been made to examine the larger questions raised by old field dynamics. Old Fields brings together leading experts from around the world to synthesize past and current work on old fields, providing an up-to-date perspective on the ecological dynamics of abandoned land. The book gives readers a broad understanding of why agricultural land is abandoned, the factors that determine the ecological recovery of old fields, and how this understanding contributes to theoretical and applied ecology. Twelve case studies from diverse geographical and climatic areas—including Australian rainforest, Brazilian Amazonia, New Jersey piedmont, and South African renosterveld—offer a global perspective on the causes and results of land abandonment. Concluding chapters consider the similarities and differences among the case studies, examine them in the context of ecological concepts, and discuss their relevance to the growing field of restoration ecology. Old Fields is the first book to draw together studies on old fields from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It represents an important contribution to the development of theory on old field dynamics and the practice of ecological restoration on abandoned farmland, and the broader implications of old field dynamics to ecology and restoration.
Download or read book World Mapping Today written by Bob Parry and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-12-22 with total page 1080 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Physical Geography of the Mediterranean written by Jamie Woodward and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-05-07 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the climates, landscapes, ecosystems and hazards that comprise the Mediterranean world. It traces the development of the Mediterranean landscape over very long timescales and examines modern processes and key environmental issues in a wide range of settings. The Mediterranean is the only region on Earth where three continents meet and this interaction has produced a very distinctive Physical Geography. This book examines the landscapes and processes at the margins of these continents and the distinctive marine environment between them. Catastrophic earthquakes, explosive volcanic eruptions and devastating storms and floods are intimately bound up within the history and mythology of the Mediterranean world. This is a key region for the study of natural hazards because it offers unrivalled access to long records of hazard occurrence and impact through documentary, archaeological and geological archives. The Mediterranean is also a biodiversity hotspot; it has been a meeting place for plants, animals and humans from three continents throughout much of its history. The Quaternary records of these interactions are more varied and better preserved than in any other part of the world. These records have provided important new insights into the tempo of climate, landscape and ecosystem change in the Mediterranean region and beyond. The region is unique because of the very early and widespread impact of humans in landscape and ecosystem change - and the richness of the archaeological and geological archives that chronicle this impact. This book examines this history and these interactions and places current environmental issues in long term context. Contributors : Ramadan Husain Abu-Zied Harriet Allen Jacques Blondel Maria-Carmen Llasat James Casford Marc Castellnou Andrew Goudie Andrew Harding Angela Hayes Tom Holt Babette Hoogakker Philip Hughes Jos Lelieveld John Lewin Francisco Lloret Francisco Lopez-Bermudez Mark Macklin Jean Margat Anne Mather Frédéric Médail Christophe Morhange Clive Oppenheimer Jean Palutikof Gerassimos Papadopoulos Josep Piñol David Pyle Jane Reed Neil Roberts Eelco Rohling Iain Stewart Stathis Stiros John Thornes Chronis Tzedakis John Wainwright
Download or read book Desertification in the Mediterranean Region A Security Issue written by W.G. Kepner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-04 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a multi-lateral forum for cooperation, information exchange, and dialogue among the environmental, development, foreign and security policy communities within the Mediterranean Region and thus may provide a precedent for further cooperation and partnership, including other more advanced conferences and publications, on assessing the condition of the entire region and the subsequent impacts and linkages to environmental security.
Download or read book AAAS Atlas of Population Environment written by Paul Harrison and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Review: This volume discusses and illustrates the effects of the world's population on natural resources, land use, atmosphere, chemicals, wastes, ecosystems, and biodiversity. It is filled with high-quality maps, charts, and informative illustrations."--"Outstanding Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2002
Download or read book Tourism and Regional Development written by Maria Giaoutzi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-05-15 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tourist visits used to be a less common activity in the past. However, more people than ever now make leisure trips, making this an era of mass tourism. This drastic change in spatial behaviour is not only caused by economic prosperity, but the scale of this phenomenon means that it is able to generate economic growth, making tourism a key factor in regional development policy. One of the main challenges of current regional policy is to market the attractiveness of an area, thereby increasing tourist visits and subsequent revenue. In particular, regions are attempting this through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which offer information on interesting places, and efficient methods for organizing and booking trips. This book examines the interconnections between tourism, ICT and regional development. Bringing together a range of European case studies illustrating various ICT and policy innovations, it not only critiques current activity by regions in terms of tourism development, but also considers how this sector is likely to continue to grow.
Download or read book Monitoring and Modelling Dynamic Environments written by Alan P. Dykes and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-09-28 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Times (Obituaries, 4 August 2008) reported that “John Thornes was one of the most eminent and influential physical geographers of his generation.” John’s keen interest in understanding landform processes and evolution was furthered through a variety of methods and informed across a range of disciplinary boundaries. In particular he pushed for better integration of monitoring, theoretical and simulation modelling, field and laboratory experimentation and remote sensing techniques. Although dominated by an interest in the Mediterranean region and problems of land degradation, his research activities ranged across a number of time scales and with other environmental perspectives. This collection of papers reflects this wide range of John’s interests through the recent work of scientists and professionals most strongly influenced by his rigorous training or leadership. The thematic focus of the book, which runs through all of the main contributions, is the integration of different methodologies and the application of this approach to improved understanding of natural systems and the development of appropriate strategies for environmental and resource management. Short overviews of John’s contributions to geomorphological research are also presented to provide context for the origins of this book.
Download or read book History of the Adriatic written by Egidio Ivetic and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2022-05-27 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Adriatic is ‘the small Mediterranean’ – a sea within a sea, part of the Mediterranean and at the same time detached from it, a largely enclosed sea with stunning coastlines and a long history of commercial, political and cultural exchange. Silent witness to the flow of civilizations, the Adriatic is the meeting point of East and West where many empires had their frontiers and some overlapped. With Italy on one side and the Balkans on the other, the Adriatic is the area where the Latin West became intertwined with the Greek and Ottoman East. This book tells the history of the Adriatic from the first cultures of the Neolithic Age through to the present day. All of the great civilizations and cultures that bordered and crossed the Adriatic are discussed: Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire, Venice and the Ottomans, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam. Byzantium was replaced by Venice, queen of the Adriatic, which reached its zenith at the beginning of the sixteenth century and maintained commercial and military hegemony in its Gulf, sharing the sea with the Turks, the Habsburgs, the Pope and the Spanish vice-kingdom of Naples. It was Napoleon who ended Venice’s reign in 1797. In the nineteenth century, the Austrian Empire prevailed, and Central Europe reached the Mediterranean through the Adriatic. United Italy placed its most symbolic frontier in the eastern Adriatic, clashing with Austria-Hungary in the First World War. The twentieth century was marked by the prolonged conflicts and eventually peace between Yugoslavia, Albania and Italy. Today the Adriatic is a region increasingly integrated into the European Union, experiencing a new era of cooperation following the dramatic collapse of Yugoslavia. Across centuries, this book illustrates the rich cultural and artistic heritage of diverse civilizations as they left their mark on the cities, shores and states of the Adriatic.
Download or read book Environmental Modelling written by John Wainwright and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-01-22 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Simulation models are an established method used to investigate processes and solve practical problems in a wide variety of disciplines. Central to the concept of this second edition is the idea that environmental systems are complex, open systems. The authors present the diversity of approaches to dealing with environmental complexity and then encourage readers to make comparisons between these approaches and between different disciplines. Environmental Modelling: Finding Simplicity in Complexity 2nd edition is divided into four main sections: An overview of methods and approaches to modelling. State of the art for modelling environmental processes Tools used and models for management Current and future developments. The second edition evolves from the first by providing additional emphasis and material for those students wishing to specialize in environmental modelling. This edition: Focuses on simplifying complex environmental systems. Reviews current software, tools and techniques for modelling. Gives practical examples from a wide variety of disciplines, e.g. climatology, ecology, hydrology, geomorphology and engineering. Has an associated website containing colour images, links to WWW resources and chapter support pages, including data sets relating to case studies, exercises and model animations. This book is suitable for final year undergraduates and postgraduates in environmental modelling, environmental science, civil engineering and biology who will already be familiar with the subject and are moving on to specialize in the field. It is also designed to appeal to professionals interested in the environmental sciences, including environmental consultants, government employees, civil engineers, geographers, ecologists, meteorologists, and geochemists.
Download or read book Historical Atlas of Central Europe written by Paul Robert Magocsi and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2018-11-12 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Central Europe remains a region of ongoing change and continuing significance in the contemporary world. This third, fully revised edition of the Historical Atlas of Central Europe takes into consideration recent changes in the region. The 120 full-colour maps, each accompanied by an explanatory text, provide a concise visual survey of political, economic, demographic, cultural, and religious developments from the fall of the Roman Empire in the early fifth century to the present. No less than 19 countries are the subject of this atlas. In terms of today's borders, those countries include Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus in the north; the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia in the Danubian Basin; and Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Greece in the Balkans. Much attention is also given to areas immediately adjacent to the central European core: historic Prussia, Venetia, western Anatolia, and Ukraine west of the Dnieper River. Embedded in the text are 48 updated administrative and statistical tables. The value of the Historical Atlas of Central Europe as an authoritative reference tool is further enhanced by an extensive bibliography and a gazetteer of place names - in up to 29 language variants - that appear on the maps and in the text. The Historical Atlas of Central Europe is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, journalists, and general readers who wish to have a fuller understanding of this critical area, with its many peoples, languages, and continued political upheaval.
Download or read book Spatial Entropy and Landscape Analysis written by Fivos Papadimitriou and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-02-03 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book on spatial entropy in the scientific literature. It links spatial entropy with landscape analysis, landscape diversity and geo-information. It gives all the essential tools that a researcher needs in order to study the spatial entropy of physical as well as artificial landscapes (created with artificial life, swarm intelligence etc). This book explores the fascinating world of the interplay between spatial entropy, spatial information, self-organization and emergence and gives geographers and landscape scientists several alternative mathematical methods to study them, i.e. Shannon's formula, measures from non-extensive thermodynamics, from directional statistics and network theory. An essential book for researchers in landscape analysis and geo-informatics.
