Download or read book Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function written by Ernst-Detlef Schulze and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The biota of the earth is being altered at an unprecedented rate. We are witnessing wholesale exchanges of organisms among geographic areas that were once totally biologically isolated. We are seeing massive changes in landscape use that are creating even more abundant succes sional patches, reductions in population sizes, and in the worst cases, losses of species. There are many reasons for concern about these trends. One is that we unfortunately do not know in detail the conse quences of these massive alterations in terms of how the biosphere as a whole operates or even, for that matter, the functioning of localized ecosystems. We do know that the biosphere interacts strongly with the atmospheric composition, contributing to potential climate change. We also know that changes in vegetative cover greatly influence the hydrology and biochemistry ofa site or region. Our knowledge is weak in important details, however. How are the many services that ecosystems provide to humanity altered by modifications of ecosystem composition? Stated in another way, what is the role of individual species in ecosystem function? We are observing the selective as well as wholesale alteration in the composition of ecosystems. Do these alterations matter in respect to how ecosystems operate and provide services? This book represents the initial probing of this central ques tion. It will be followed by other volumes in this series examining in depth the functional role of biodiversity in various ecosystems of the world.
Download or read book Insects and Ecosystem Function written by W.W. Weisser and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-05 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insects are a dominant component of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and play a key role in mediating the relationship between plants and ecosystem processes. This volume examines their effects on ecosystem functioning, focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on herbivorous insects. Renowned authors with extensive experience in the field of plant-insect interactions, contribute to the volume using examples from their own work.
Download or read book Biodiversity Loss written by Charles Perrings and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-01-28 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume reports key findings of the Biodiversity Program of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Beijer Institute. The program brought together a number of eminent ecologists and economists to consider the nature and significance of the biodiversity problem. In encouraging collaborative work between these closely related disciplines it sought to shed new light on the concept of diversity; the implications of biological diversity for the functioning of ecosystems; the driving forces behind biodiversity loss; and the options for promoting biodiversity conservation. The results of the program are surprising. It is shown that the core of the biodiversity problem is a loss of ecosystem resilience and the insurance it provides against the uncertain environmental effects of economic and population growth. This is as much a local as a global problem, implying that biodiversity conservation offers benefits that are as much local as global. The solutions as well as the causes of biodiversity loss lie in incentives to local users.
Download or read book Ecosystem Functioning written by Kurt Jax and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-16 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new and integrative analysis of the concept of ecosystem functioning, providing guidance for its application in conservation practice.
Download or read book The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity written by Ann P. Kinzig and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does biodiversity influence how ecosystems function? Might diversity loss affect the ability of ecosystems to deliver services of benefit to humankind? Ecosystems provide food, fuel, fiber, and drinkable water, regulate local and regional climate, and recycle needed nutrients, among other things. An ecosyste's ability to sustain functioning may depend on the number of species residing in the ecosystem--its biological diversity--but this has been a controversial hypothesis. There are many unanswered questions about how and why changes in biodiversity could alter ecosystem functioning. This volume, written by top researchers, synthesizes empirical studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and extends that knowledge using a novel and coordinated set of models and theoretical approaches. These experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate that functioning usually increases with biodiversity, but also reveals when and under what circumstances other relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning might occur. It also accounts for apparent changes in diversity-functioning relationships that emerge over time in disturbed ecosystems, thereby addressing a major controversy in the field. The volume concludes with a blueprint for moving beyond small-scale studies to regional ones--a move of enormous significance for policy and conservation but one that will entail tackling some of the most fundamental challenges in ecology. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Juan Armesto, Claudia Neuhauser, Andy Hector, Clarence Lehman, Peter Kareiva, Sharon Lawler, Peter Chesson, Teri Balser, Mary K. Firestone, Robert Holt, Michel Loreau, Johannes Knops, David Wedin, Peter Reich, Shahid Naeem, Bernhard Schmid, Jasmin Joshi, and Felix Schläpfer.
Download or read book Diversity of Ecosystems written by Mahamane Ali and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2012-04-27 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ecosystems present a great diversity worldwide and use various functionalities according to ecologic regions. In this new context of variability and climatic changes, these ecosystems undergo notable modifications amplified by domestic uses of which it was subjected to. Indeed the ecosystems render diverse services to humanity from their composition and structure but the tolerable levels are unknown. The preservation of these ecosystemic services needs a clear understanding of their complexity. The role of research is not only to characterise the ecosystems but also to clearly define the tolerable usage levels. Their characterisation proves to be important not only for the local populations that use it but also for the conservation of biodiversity. Hence, the measurement, management and protection of ecosystems need innovative and diverse methods. For all these reasons, the aim of this book is to bring out a general view on the function of ecosystems, modelling, sampling strategies, invading species, the response of organisms to modifications, the carbon dynamics, the mathematical models and theories that can be applied in diverse conditions.
Download or read book Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning written by Michel Loreau and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasing domination of ecosystems by humans is steadily transforming them into depauperate systems. How will this loss of biodiversity affect the functioning and stability of natural and managed ecosystems? This work provides comprehensive coverage of empirical and theoretical research.
Download or read book YOUMARES 8 Oceans Across Boundaries Learning from each other written by Simon Jungblut and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-08-29 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book presents the proceedings volume of the YOUMARES 8 conference, which took place in Kiel, Germany, in September 2017, supported by the German Association for Marine Sciences (DGM). The YOUMARES conference series is entirely bottom-up organized by and for YOUng MARine RESearchers. Qualified early career scientists moderated the scientific sessions during the conference and provided literature reviews on aspects of their research field. These reviews and the presenters’ conference abstracts are compiled here. Thus, this book discusses highly topical fields of marine research and aims to act as a source of knowledge and inspiration for further reading and research.
Download or read book Linking Species Ecosystems written by Clive G. Jones and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1995 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first volume devoted to the integration of population and ecosystem ecology--an approach that offers vast potential for improving our understanding of the complexities of nature and the management of environmental problems. The editors, Clive Jones and John Lawton, work at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in New York and the Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology in England, respectively. They have brought together a distinguished group of experts to explore diverse aspects of linking species and ecosystem perspectives: theoretical, empirical and pragmatic including: *processes that range from a local to a planetary scale *the role of organisms as ecosystem engineers *the use of ecological flow chains to link population and ecosystem processes *numerous examples of the influence of species on ecosystem processes and vice versa *a unique blend of problems and processes drawn from marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems *problems of species redundancy in ecosystem processes *stoichiometric constraints on species interactions; *scaling and aggregation problems. The book establishes conceptual frameworks for the rigorous study of interactions between species and ecosystems, it points to still-unanswered questions, and it identifies future research directions. Integration of ecology with its implications for teaching, research and society are central to the book. This pioneering volume will be an indispensable resource for ecology researchers, students, and environmental managers and will stimulate debate on the future integration of the field.
Download or read book From Populations to Ecosystems written by Michel Loreau and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The major subdisciplines of ecology--population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and evolutionary ecology--have diverged increasingly in recent decades. What is critically needed today is an integrated, real-world approach to ecology that reflects the interdependency of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. From Populations to Ecosystems proposes an innovative theoretical synthesis that will enable us to advance our fundamental understanding of ecological systems and help us to respond to today's emerging global ecological crisis. Michel Loreau begins by explaining how the principles of population dynamics and ecosystem functioning can be merged. He then addresses key issues in the study of biodiversity and ecosystems, such as functional complementarity, food webs, stability and complexity, material cycling, and metacommunities. Loreau describes the most recent theoretical advances that link the properties of individual populations to the aggregate properties of communities, and the properties of functional groups or trophic levels to the functioning of whole ecosystems, placing special emphasis on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Finally, he turns his attention to the controversial issue of the evolution of entire ecosystems and their properties, laying the theoretical foundations for a genuine evolutionary ecosystem ecology. From Populations to Ecosystems points the way to a much-needed synthesis in ecology, one that offers a fuller understanding of ecosystem processes in the natural world.
Download or read book The Functioning of Ecosystems written by Mahamane Ali and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2012-04-27 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ecosystems present a great diversity worldwide and use various functionalities according to ecologic regions. In this new context of variability and climatic changes, these ecosystems undergo notable modifications amplified by domestic uses of which it was subjected to. Indeed the ecosystems render diverse services to humanity from their composition and structure but the tolerable levels are unknown. The preservation of these ecosystemic services needs a clear understanding of their complexity. The role of the research is not only to characterise the ecosystems but also to clearly define the tolerable usage levels. Their characterisation proves to be important not only for the local populations that use it but also for the conservation of biodiversity. Hence, the measurement, management and protection of ecosystems need innovative and diverse methods. For all these reasons, the aim of this book is to bring out a general view on the biogeochemical cycles, the ecological imprints, the mathematical models and theories applicable to many situations.
Download or read book Forest Ecosystems in the Alaskan Taiga written by K. van Cleve and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The information presented in this book is the result of combined research efforts of scientists at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, the Institute of Northern Forestry, USDA Forest Service, and the Systems Ecology Research Group, San Diego State University. The objective of the volume is to present a synthetic overview of structure and function of taiga forest ecosystems in interior Alaska. The data base for this work has appeared in earlier published articles including the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research Volume 13:5 (1983). Stimulus for this book was a conference held in Fairbanks from June 10-14, 1983. The papers presented at the conference were fore runners of the chapters in this book. We invited 19 scientists from North America and England to critique our research and synthesis efforts. Six of these people were asked to write introductory chapters for each section of the book. Formal presentation sessions, combined with field trips to research sites, introduced the invitees to the primary and secondary successional ecosystems with which we were dealing. A major wildfire, only 24 km from the University campus, was contained the week prior to the conference and one field trip provided graphic evidence of fire impact in subarctic forests. The conference conveners regretted that it was not possible to host a similar meeting during synthesis efforts in mid-January.
Download or read book The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity written by Ann P. Kinzig and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does biodiversity influence how ecosystems function? Might diversity loss affect the ability of ecosystems to deliver services of benefit to humankind? Ecosystems provide food, fuel, fiber, and drinkable water, regulate local and regional climate, and recycle needed nutrients, among other things. An ecosyste's ability to sustain functioning may depend on the number of species residing in the ecosystem--its biological diversity--but this has been a controversial hypothesis. There are many unanswered questions about how and why changes in biodiversity could alter ecosystem functioning. This volume, written by top researchers, synthesizes empirical studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and extends that knowledge using a novel and coordinated set of models and theoretical approaches. These experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate that functioning usually increases with biodiversity, but also reveals when and under what circumstances other relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning might occur. It also accounts for apparent changes in diversity-functioning relationships that emerge over time in disturbed ecosystems, thereby addressing a major controversy in the field. The volume concludes with a blueprint for moving beyond small-scale studies to regional ones--a move of enormous significance for policy and conservation but one that will entail tackling some of the most fundamental challenges in ecology. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Juan Armesto, Claudia Neuhauser, Andy Hector, Clarence Lehman, Peter Kareiva, Sharon Lawler, Peter Chesson, Teri Balser, Mary K. Firestone, Robert Holt, Michel Loreau, Johannes Knops, David Wedin, Peter Reich, Shahid Naeem, Bernhard Schmid, Jasmin Joshi, and Felix Schläpfer.
Download or read book Ecology and Evolution of Livebearing Fishes Poeciliidae written by Gary K. Meffe and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mediterranean Type Ecosystems written by George W. Davis and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human activities are causing species extinctions at a rate and magnitude rivaling those of past geologic extinction events. Exploring mediterranean-type ecosystems - the Mediterranean Basin, California, Chile, Australia, and South Africa - this volume addresses the question whether biological diversity plays a significant role in the functioning of natural ecosystems, and to what extent that diversity can be reduced without causing system malfunction. Comparative studies in ecosystems that are similar in certain respects, but differ in others, offer considerable scope for gaining new insights into the links between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Download or read book Biodiversity Ecosystem Functioning and Human Wellbeing written by Shahid Naeem and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-07-30 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How will biodiversity loss affect ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, and human well-being? In an age of accelerating biodiversity loss, this timely and critical volume summarizes recent advances in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research and explores the economics of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The book starts by summarizing the development of the basic science and provides a meta-analysis that quantitatively tests several biodiversity and ecosystem functioning hypotheses. It then describes the natural science foundations of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research including: quantifying functional diversity, the development of the field into a predictive science, the effects of stability and complexity, methods to quantify mechanisms by which diversity affects functioning, the importance of trophic structure, microbial ecology, and spatial dynamics. Finally, the book takes research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning further than it has ever gone into the human dimension, describing the most pressing environmental challenges that face humanity and the effects of diversity on: climate change mitigation, restoration of degraded habitats, managed ecosystems, pollination, disease, and biological invasions. However, what makes this volume truly unique are the chapters that consider the economic perspective. These include a synthesis of the economics of ecosystem services and biodiversity, and the options open to policy-makers to address the failure of markets to account for the loss of ecosystem services; an examination of the challenges of valuing ecosystem services and, hence, to understanding the human consequences of decisions that neglect these services; and an examination of the ways in which economists are currently incorporating biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research into decision models for the conservation and management of biodiversity. A final section describes new advances in ecoinformatics that will help transform this field into a globally predictive science, and summarizes the advancements and future directions of the field. The ultimate conclusion is that biodiversity is an essential element of any strategy for sustainable development.
Download or read book Ecology of Desert Systems written by Walter G. Whitford and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly one-third of the land area on our planet is classified as arid or desert. Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of such arid ecosystems is essential to managing those systems in a way that sustains human populations. This second edition of Ecology of Desert Systems provides a clear, extensive guide to the complex interactions involved in these areas. This book details the relationships between abiotic and biotic environments of desert ecosystems, demonstrating to readers how these interactions drive ecological processes. These include plant growth and animal reproductive success, the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation and animals, and the influence of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change specific to arid systems. Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert authors, Ecology of Desert Systems is an essential guide to arid ecosystems for students looking for an overview of the field, researchers keen to learn how their work fits in to the overall picture, and those involved with environmental management of desert areas. Highlights the complexity of global desert systems in a clear, concise way Reviews the most current issues facing researchers in the field, including the spread of invasive species due to globalized trade, the impact of industrial mining, and climate change Updated and extended to include information on invasive species management, industrial mining impacts, and the current and future role of climate change in desert systems
