Download or read book Tropical Forests and Their Crops written by Nigel J. H. Smith and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tropics are the source of many of our familiar fruits, vegetables, oils, and spice, as well as such commodities as rubber and wood. Moreover, other tropical fruits and vegetables are being introduced into our markets to offer variety to our diet. Now, as tropical forests are increasingly threatened, we face a double-fold crisis: not only the loss of the plants but also rich pools of potentially useful genes. Wild populations of crop plants harbor genes that can improve the productivity and disease resistance of cultivated crops, many of which are vital to developing economies and to global commerce. Eight chapters of this book are devoted to a variety of tropical crops—beverages, fruit, starch, oil, resins, fuelwood, fodder, spices, timber, and nuts—the history of their domestication, their uses today, and the known extent of their gene pools, both domesticated and wild. Drawing on broad research, the authors also consider conservation strategies such as parks and reserves, corporate holdings, gene banks and tissue culture collections, and debt-for-nature swaps. They stress the need for a sensitive balance between conservation and the economic well-being of local populations. If economic growth is part of the conservation effort, local populations and governments will be more strongly motivated to save their natural resources. Distinctly practical and soundly informative, this book provides insight into the overwhelming abundance of tropical forests, an unsettling sense of what we may lose if they are destroyed, and a deep appreciation for the delicate relationships between tropical forest plants and people around the world.
Download or read book Palms of controversies written by Alain Rival and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rapid development of oil palm cultivation feeds many social issues such as biodiversity, deforestation, food habits or ethical investments. How can this palm be viewed as a miracle plant by both the agro-food industry in the North and farmers in the tropical zone, but a serious ecological threat by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) campaigning for the environment or rights of local indigenous peoples? In the present book the authors – a biologist and an agricultural economist- describe a global and complex tropical sector, for which the interests of the many different stakeholders are often antagonistic. Oil palm has become emblematic of recent changes in North-South relationship in agricultural development. Indeed, palm oil is produced and consumed in the South; its trade is driven by emerging countries, although the major part of its transformations is made in the North that still hosts the largest multinational agro industries. It is also in the North that the sector is challenged on ethical and environmental issues. Public controversy over palm oil is often opinionated and it is fed by definitive and sometimes exaggerated statements. Researchers are conveying a more nuanced speech, which is supported by scientific data and a shared field experience. Their work helps in building a more balanced view, moving attention to the South, the region of exclusive production and major consumption of palm oil.
Download or read book Plant by Numbers written by Steve Asbell and published by . This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVIn Plant by Numbers, author Steve Asbell takes interior container gardening to a much prettier level with 50 original planting projects presented through a fun, witty, recipe-style layout with full-color photos and custom planting diagrams. /div
Download or read book Tropical Palms written by Dennis Victor Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tropical palms, originally published in 1998, has been updated in 2010 by the author to include the most recent information and developments regarding the conservation status and use of various tropical palm species. The deteriorating conservation status of several tropical palm species, particularly in the rattan group, as well as recent developments regarding the use of palm products in the food, bioenergy and fibre processing industries, for example, required a thorough review of the first edition. For the reader's comfort, as well as to make it easy to identify where updates took place, the revised edition follows the same format and chapter sequence as in the original publication, including by following as much as possible the same order of tables, graphs and illustrations and by adding new ones where applicable."--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas written by Andrew Henderson and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This user-friendly and authoritative book will serve scientists, growers, and sightseers as a guide to the 67 genra and 550 species of naturally occurring palms found in the Americas. Its purpose is to give an introduction to the diversity of palms and allow almost anyone to identify a palm from this part of the world. Andrew Henderson is Assistant Scientist at the New York Botanical Garden. Gloria Galeano and Rodrigo Bernal are Assistant Professors at the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book Planet Palm written by Jocelyn C. Zuckerman and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist, Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism In the tradition of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, a groundbreaking global investigation into the industry ravaging the environment and global health—from the James Beard Award–winning journalist Over the past few decades, palm oil has seeped into every corner of our lives. Worldwide, palm oil production has nearly doubled in just the last decade: oil-palm plantations now cover an area nearly the size of New Zealand, and some form of the commodity lurks in half the products on U.S. grocery shelves. But the palm oil revolution has been built on stolen land and slave labor; it’s swept away cultures and so devastated the landscapes of Southeast Asia that iconic animals now teeter on the brink of extinction. Fires lit to clear the way for plantations spew carbon emissions to rival those of industrialized nations. James Beard Award–winning journalist Jocelyn C. Zuckerman spent years traveling the globe, from Liberia to Indonesia, India to Brazil, reporting on the human and environmental impacts of this poorly understood plant. The result is Planet Palm, a riveting account blending history, science, politics, and food as seen through the people whose lives have been upended by this hidden ingredient. This groundbreaking work of first-rate journalism compels us to examine the connections between the choices we make at the grocery store and a planet under siege.
Download or read book Tropical Trees and Forests written by F. Halle and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Seed Fate written by J. E. Lambert and published by CABI. This book was released on 2005 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents current knowledge of seed fate in both natural and human-disturbed landscapes, from various regions of the world. Habitats considered range from mountain and arid deserts in the temperate zone, to savanna and lowland rainforests in tropical regions of the world. Particular attention is paid to plant diversity conservation when seed removal is affected by factors such as hunting, habitat fragmentation or intensive logging. Contributors include leading scientists involved in research on seed ecology and on animal-plant relationships from the perspective of both primary and secondary seed dispersal, and predation.
Download or read book Origin and Evolution of Tropical Rain Forests written by Robert J. Morley and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2000-04-07 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although tropical rain forests form the world?s most species-rich ecosystems, their origin and history remain unclear, except on the very short timescale of the last 40 000 years or so. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the history of tropical rain forests on a long term geological timescale, commencing with the origin of the angiosperms over 100 million years ago, which today overwhelmingly dominate these forests. Tropical rain forest evolution is discussed in a global context within an up to date plate tectonic, palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatic framework, primarily by reference to the record of fossil pollen and spores. A particularly important aspect of this book is that in addition to published literature, it relies heavily on unpublished palynological data generated for petroleum companies during the course of hydrocarbon exploration programmes. Without access to such data the book could not have been written. The main text of the book reviews the evolution of tropical rain forests on a continent by continent basis, culminating with a global synthesis of their history in relation to the changing positions of the world?s tectonic plates and changing climates. This section also establishes the age of the great tropical rain forest blocks and identifies the world?s oldest tropical rain forests. The final chapter compares 20th Century tropical rain forest destruction with prehistoric forest clearance in temperate regions, and looks for analogues of the present phase of destruction within the geological record before considering long term implications of total rain forest destruction. The book will be of interest to all concerned with tropical rain forests, especially biologists, botanists, ecologists, and students of evolution. It will be valuable for postgraduates and advanced undergraduates, as well as stratigraphers, palaeobotanists, palynologists, and petroleum geologists.
Download or read book World Checklist of Palms written by Rafaël Govaerts and published by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. This book was released on 2005 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book lists all validly published names of palms, providing the source of their publication and indication of which names are currently accepted and which are synonyms. Geographical distribution is also included for all accepted species.
Download or read book Tropical Forests in Prehistory History and Modernity written by Patrick Roberts and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-03 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In popular discourse, tropical forests are synonymous with 'nature' and 'wilderness'; battlegrounds between apparently pristine floral, faunal, and human communities, and the unrelenting industrial and urban powers of the modern world. It is rarely publicly understood that the extent of human adaptation to, and alteration of, tropical forest environments extends across archaeological, historical, and anthropological timescales. This book is the first attempt to bring together evidence for the nature of human interactions with tropical forests on a global scale, from the emergence of hominins in the tropical forests of Africa to modern conservation issues. Following a review of the natural history and variability of tropical forest ecosystems, this book takes a tour of human, and human ancestor, occupation and use of tropical forest environments through time. Far from being pristine, primordial ecosystems, this book illustrates how our species has inhabited and modified tropical forests from the earliest stages of its evolution. While agricultural strategies and vast urban networks emerged in tropical forests long prior to the arrival of European colonial powers and later industrialization, this should not be taken as justification for the massive deforestation and biodiversity threats imposed on tropical forest ecosystems in the 21st century. Rather, such a long-term perspective highlights the ongoing challenges of sustainability faced by forager, agricultural, and urban societies in these environments, setting the stage for more integrated approaches to conservation and policy-making, and the protection of millennia of ecological and cultural heritage bound up in these habitats.
Download or read book Jungle written by Patrick Roberts and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2021-07-01 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A bold, ambitious and truly wonderful history of the world' Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees 'A fascinating story and a crucial revision of the momentous importance of tropical forests to human history' Lewis Dartnell, author of Origins _________________________ Jungle tells the remarkable story of the world's tropical forests, from the arrival of the first plants millions of years ago to the role of tropical forests in the evolution of the world's atmosphere, the dinosaurs, the first mammals and even our own species and ancestors. Highlighting provocative new evidence garnered from cutting-edge research, Dr Roberts shows, for example, that our view of humans as 'savannah specialists' is wildly wrong, and that the 'Anthropocene' began not with the Industrial Revolution, but potentially as early as 6,000 years ago in the tropics. We see that the relationship between humankind and 'jungles' is deep-rooted, that we are all connected to their destruction, and that we must all act to save them. Urgent, clear-sighted and original, Jungle challenges the way we think about the world - and ourselves. _________________________ 'Welcome to the "Jungle" - a breathtaking book' Mark Maslin, author of How to Save Our Planet 'Timely, readable and highly relevant' Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs 'Its revelations and stories will stir, rearrange and populate your mind for years to come' Paul Hawken, editor of Drawdown 'Brilliant ... it delivers a timely warning about our abuse of the environment' David Abulafia, author of The Great Sea 'Finally, a book on rainforests that does justice to their majesty and importance' Simon Lewis, co-author of The Human Planet
Download or read book The Joy of Search written by Daniel M. Russell and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-06-06 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to be a great online searcher, demonstrated with step-by-step searches for answers to a series of intriguing questions (for example, “Is that plant poisonous?”). We all know how to look up something online by typing words into a search engine. We do this so often that we have made the most famous search engine a verb: we Google it—“Japan population” or “Nobel Peace Prize” or “poison ivy” or whatever we want to know. But knowing how to Google something doesn't make us search experts; there's much more we can do to access the massive collective knowledge available online. In The Joy of Search, Daniel Russell shows us how to be great online researchers. We don't have to be computer geeks or a scholar searching out obscure facts; we just need to know some basic methods. Russell demonstrates these methods with step-by-step searches for answers to a series of intriguing questions—from “what is the wrong side of a towel?” to “what is the most likely way you will die?” Along the way, readers will discover essential tools for effective online searches—and learn some fascinating facts and interesting stories. Russell explains how to frame search queries so they will yield information and describes the best ways to use such resources as Google Earth, Google Scholar, Wikipedia, and Wikimedia. He shows when to put search terms in double quotes, how to use the operator (*), why metadata is important, and how to triangulate information from multiple sources. By the end of this engaging journey of discovering, readers will have the definitive answer to why the best online searches involve more than typing a few words into Google.
Download or read book Genera Palmarum written by John Dransfield and published by International Palm Society. This book was released on 2008 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Palms are the symbols of the tropics. They are the most distinctive of all flowering plants, and yet their diversity of form and ecology is astounding. A family of Superlatives, the palms boast the longest leaf the longest unhrauched aerial steins, the biggest inflorescences and the largest seed in the plant kingdom. They play a vital role in economies throughout the world, supplying major traded commodities such as oils, starch and sugar, and are significant in the global horticultural industry. They also provide countless resources to local communities at the subsistence level." "The scientific interest of the family encompasses many aspects, including their copious fossil record, evolution, ecology and natural history. Current research on the relationships among palms has culminated in a new phylogenetic classification of the family, which forms the basis of Genera Palmarum: The Evolution and Classification of Palms. This encyclopaedic account of the family provides a new standard reference to underpin all palm studies."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Systematic review of effects on biodiversity from oil palm production written by Sini Savilaakso and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2014-12-29 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the past decade there has been a growing interest in bioenergy, driven by concerns about global climate change, growing energy demand, and depleting fossil fuel reserves. The predicted rise in biofuel demand makes it important to understand the potential consequences of expanding biofuel cultivation. A systematic review was conducted on the biodiversity impacts of three first-generation biofuel crops (oil palm, soybean, and jatropha) in the tropics. The study focused on the impacts on species richness, abundance (total number of individuals or occurrences), community composition, and ecosystem functions related to species richness and community composition.
Download or read book Garden Time written by William Stanley Merwin and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Late in life our most revered poet delivers a verdant collection that rivals the best from his storied career.
Download or read book Tropical Forest Biomes written by Barbara A. Holzman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-09-30 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Biomes of the World series covers the lush, beautiful - and rapidly shrinking - tropical forest biomes. The volume covers the two major tropic forest biomes, tropical rainforests and tropical seasonal forests.
