Marine Biodiversity : Patterns and Processes, Assessment, Threats, Management and Conservation
Understanding the functioning of Marine Ecosystems is the first step to measure and predict the influence of Man, and to find solutions for the enormous array of problems we face today. This volume is organised according to the four subthemes of the symposium and to issues commonly perceived as relevant by scientists concerned with the study, protection and management of Marine Biodiversity: patterns and processes, assessment, threats and management and conservation.
Mangroves and Halophytes : Restoration and Utilisation
Focusing on Venezuela and Mexico, this edited volume from the International Society of Halophyte Utilisation (ISHU) explores the environmental issues facing South and Central America's coastal ecosystems, and discusses the uses of mangrove species and other halophytes in addressing issues of both coastal pollution and upland soil salinisation. The book draws on expertise from Europe and South America to present a series of case studies that detail Venezuela’s saline ecosystems and examine the economic potential of mangrove restoration and halophyte production. It includes cutting-edge research into the establishment of new mangrove stands which could serve as prototypes for the sustainable use of halophytes, including Chenopodium quinoa and Tamarix aphylla. Moreover, the detailed examples from Venezuela and other Caribbean countries provide useful models for comparison with halophyte utilisation in other parts of the world – especially the Mediterranean region, where much of the earlier research of the ISHU had been conducted.
Low-Dose Radiation Effects on Animals and Ecosystems : Long-Term Study on the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
Brings together the works of radiation biologists and ecologists to provide reliable radioecology data and gives insight into future radioprotection. The book examines the environmental pollution and radiation exposure, and contains valuable data from abandoned livestock in the ex-evacuation zone and from wild animals including invertebrates and vertebrates, aqueous and terrestrial animals, and plants that are subjected to long-term exposure in the area still affected by radiation. It also analyzes dose evaluation, and offers new perspectives gained from the accident, as well as an overview for future studies to promote radioprotection of humans and the ecosystem.
Long-Term Ecosystem Changes in Riparian Forests
Presents and analyzes the results of more than 30 years of long-term ecological research in riparian forest ecosystems with the aim of casting light on changes in the dynamics of riparian forests over time.
Living Rivers : Trends and Challenges in Science and Management
All over the world, sustainable river basin management is a leading principle of policy plans and legal instruments for water management (e.g. the European Water Framework Directive). The evidence, however, to underpin the full scope of sustainability is rather scanty. In this book an integrative perspective on trends and challenges in river science and management is demonstrated. The three pillars underneath sustainable water management, ecology, economy and sociology, are elaborated by experts in their fields. A number of papers integrate the current knowledge on the structure, functioning and management of ‘living rivers’. The book includes data and experiences concerning the rivers Allier, Meuse, Rhine, Sava and Tagliamento in Europe and the river Illinois in the USA. Sustainable river basin management asks for un-orthodox rehabilitation programmes and ecosystem based and transboundary management approaches.
Linking Restoration and Ecological Succession
Recognizes the critical roles of disturbance ecology, landscape ecology, ecological assembly, invasion biology, ecosystem health, and historical ecology in habitat restoration and argues that restoration within a successional context will best utilize the lessons from each of these disciplines.
Life in Extreme Environments
Investigating life processes under extreme conditions can also bring clues for understanding and predicting ecosystems' responses to global changes. Furthermore, this area of research has a wide application potential in the fields of (bio)technoloty, chemical industry, pharmaceutics, biomedicine or cosmetics.
Life as We Know It
Life As we Know It ["LAKI"] covers several aspects of Life, ranging from the prebiotic level, origin of life, evolution of prokaryotes to eukaryotes and finally to various affairs of human beings. Although it is hard to define Life, one can, however, characterize it and describe its features. Topics treated are categories of bacteria, algae and fungi, conscience, philosophy, theology, aesthetics, appearance of sport and life destiny, life after clinical death, and thoughts of the world to come ("Olam Haba"). The various chapters have been written so that they are accessible to all - from the avid lay reader to the specialist – and make available multidisciplinary sources of information about Life. This volume will interest open minded scholars, students at all levels of general sciences, natural and Life science, researchers of philosophy, theology, history of Life, astrobiology, and those who wish to widen their knowledge about "who are we in the universe".
Landscape Pattern Analysis for Assessing Ecosystem Condition
Landscape Pattern Analysis for Assessing Ecosystem Condition presents a new method for assessing spatial pattern in raster land cover maps based on satellite imagery in a way that incorporates multiple pixel resolutions. This is combined with more conventional single-resolution measurements of spatial pattern and simple non-spatial land cover proportions to assess predictability of both surface water quality and ecological integrity within watersheds of the state of Pennsylvania (USA).
Landscape Ecological Applications in Man-Influenced Areas : Linking Man and Nature Systems
This book also includes several case studies concerning landscape analysis and evaluation using spatial analysis and landscape modelling for establishing sustainable management strategy in urban and agricultural landscapes. The subtitle of the book suggests the integrative and ubiquitous landscape planning considering harmony of man and nature systems in the socio-economic and cultural background.
Lamto : Structure, Functioning, and Dynamics of a Savanna Ecosystem
Known as "a dream place for scientists," the Lamto savannas, located on the edge of the Cote d'Ivoire rain forests, are one of the only savannas in the world where ongoing ecological research has endured for more than forty years. Drawing from and synthesizing this abundance of research, the book examines the structure, functioning, and dynamics of the Lamto humid savanna. Beginning with the history of the Lamto ecology station and an overview of the major environmental conditions of the site, this exacting work specifically examines the integrative view of energy and nutrient fluxes relative to the dynamics of the savanna's vegetation.
Lake Verevi, Estonia : A highly stratified hypertrophic lake
The present book summarises investigations on Lake Verevi (surface 12.6 ha, mean depth 3.6 m). The seventeen articles in this issue deal with a wide range of questions, starting with a holistic overview of the ecological status, over assessments of long-term changes in biotic and abiotic conditions and finishing with proposed restoration plans. Abiotic chapters provide calculations on water and mass balance, distribution and fractions of phosphorus in the sediment, optical properties and penetration of radiation in the water column, sedimentation rate during the formation of stratification, and nitrogen circulation characteristics.
Lake Taihu, China : Dynamics and Environmental Change
There are many shallow lakes in the world. Many of them play an important socio-economic role as contributors to the drinking water supply, in flood attenuation, fisheries and recreation activities. Because of the current anthropogenic changes in the environment, such lakes rapidly respond to eutrophication and swamping. It is often hard to address these issues because many changes in the ecosystems of shallow lakes are associated with little studied physical processes. This interaction between the aquatic biota and the physical and chemical environment increases the complexity of shallow lake ecosystems. Lake Taihu, located in the delta of Yangtze River, is a typical large, shallow eutrophic lake with area of 2338 km2 and maximum depth of less than 3m . This book provides basic data on various aspects of this lake and summarizes research work on the interaction between its ecology and physical limnology. It will be a reference for teachers and students of freshwater ecology and biology, the aquatic environment in general, and, most strikingly, for all those interested in physical limnology.
Lagomorph Biology : Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation
Lagomorphs are a mammalian order which includes rabbits, hares and pikas. They are distributed throughout the world and are of both scientific and public interest as they are classified between endangered and pest species. In addition, some have a high economic value as important game species. In the last few decades, a huge amount of information was made available to the scientific community and resulted in remarkable advances on all aspects of Lagomorph biology. However, this information is dispersed in multiple scientific and non-scientific journals. This book provides an updated synthesis of the current knowledge on Lagomorph biology.
Complexity in landscape ecology
Interactions matter. To understand the distributions of plants and animals in a landscape you need to understand how they interact with each other, and with their environment. The resulting networks of interactions make ecosystems highly complex. Recent research on complexity and artificial life provides many new insights about patterns and processes in landscapes and ecosystems. This book provides the first overview of that work for general readers. It covers such topics as connectivity, criticality, feedback, and networks, as well as their impact on the stability and predictability of ecosystem dynamics. With over 60 years of research experience of both ecology and complexity, the authors are uniquely qualified to provide a new perspective on traditional ecology.
Chemical Ecology : From Gene to Ecosystem
This book provides an overview of chemical ecology related to different ecosystems. It offers an outlook at novel directions that can be taken in chemical ecology through a molecular-ecological or eco-genomic approach. The book addresses aboveground and belowground terrestrial systems as well as aquatic systems, and the organisms involved are micro- and macro-organisms, such as plants, arthropods and mammals.
Changing Land Use Patterns in the Coastal Zone : Managing Environmental Quality in Rapidly Developing Regions
Coastal ecosystems make up some of the most important, yet most endangered, regions in the world. The protection of the unique processes that take place in these ecosystems requires that partnerships be formed among ecologists, resource managers, and planners. Experienced in the challenges of coastal system analysis, the contributors to this book provide multidisciplinary guidance on the assessment and management of environmental impacts caused by development. Each chapter examines an issue important to these fragile ecosystems, first presenting a non-technical summary of the issue and a review of the current state of the knowledge, then following with data and a more detailed consideration of the topic.
Carbon and nitrogen in the terrestrial environment
Carbon and Nitrogen in the Terrestrial Environment is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary description of C and N fluxes between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere; issues related to C and N management in different ecosystems and their implications for the environment and global climate change; and the approaches to mitigate emission of greenhouse gases.Drawing upon the most up-to-date books, journals, bulletins, reports, symposia proceedings and internet sources documenting interrelationships between different aspects of C and N cycling in the terrestrial environment, Carbon and Nitrogen in the Terrestrial Environment fills the gap left by most of the currently available books on C and N cycling. They either deal with a single element of an ecosystem, or are related to one or a few selected aspects like soil organic matter (SOM) and agricultural or forest management, emission of greenhouse gases, global climate change or modeling of SOM dynamics.
Cadmium toxicity : challenges and solutions
Offers a comprehensive collection of review and case chapters that cover cadmium toxicity and remediation. It covers sources of cadmium contamination, its impact on human health, and prospective remediation strategies, taking a multi-disciplinary approach a focus on application of recent advanced biological technology. The chapters here bring together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability and health researchers to address the challenges caused by cadmium contamination, explaining the routes of exposure to environmental cadmium, how cadmium is transported in ecosystems, and the health risks linked to cadmium exposure in food and the environment.
By-catch Reduction in the Worlds Fisheries
This book comes after several decades of outstanding and successful research that has helped ameliorate some of the most important and controversial fisheries issues in the world – those associated with the unwanted wastage of fish from by-catch and discarding. The 8 chapters encompass contributions from 27 of the world’s leading experts in by-catch reduction. They take the reader through most aspects of the field at a variety of scales and viewpoints. They examine the methodologies used to develop by-catch reduction techniques and provide new avenues for assisting and broadening such work. Case studies are provided that encompass most of the world’s fishing techniques and regions.



















