Altered Ecologies
Altered Ecologies

Author: Simon Haberle

Publisher: ANU E Press

Published: 2010-11-01

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 1921666811

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Like a star chart this volume orientates the reader to the key issues and debates in Pacific and Australasian biogeography, palaeoecology and human ecology. A feature of this collection is the diversity of approaches ranging from interpretation of the biogeographic significance of plant and animal distributional patterns, pollen analysis from peats and lake sediments to discern Quaternary climate change, explanation of the patterns of faunal extinction events, the interplay of fire on landscape evolution, and models of the environmental consequences of human settlement patterns. The diversity of approaches, geographic scope and academic rigor are a fitting tribute to the enormous contributions of Geoff Hope. As made apparent in this volume, Hope pioneered multidisciplinary understanding of the history and impacts of human cultures in the Australia- Pacific region, arguably the globe's premier model systems for understanding the consequences of humans colonization on ecological systems. The distinguished scholars who have contributed to this volume also demonstrate Hope's enduring contribution as an inspirational research leader, collaborator and mentor. Terra Australis leave no doubt that history matters, not only for land management, but more importantly, in alerting settler and indigenous societies alike to their past ecological impacts and future environmental trajectories.

Environmental Change and the World's Futures
Environmental Change and the World's Futures

Author: Jonathan Paul Marshall

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-27

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1317690826

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Climate change and ecological instability have the potential to disrupt human societies and their futures. Cultural, social and ethical life in all societies is directed towards a future that can never be observed, and never be directly acted upon, and yet is always interacting with us. Thinking and acting towards the future involves efforts of imagination that are linked to our sense of being in the world and the ecological pressures we experience. The three key ideas of this book – ecologies, ontologies and mythologies – help us understand the ways people in many different societies attempt to predict and shape their futures. Each chapter places a different emphasis on the linked domains of environmental change, embodied experience, myth and fantasy, politics, technology and intellectual reflection, in relation to imagined futures. The diverse geographic scope of the chapters includes rural Nepal, the islands of the Pacific Ocean, Sweden, coastal Scotland, North America, and remote, rural and urban Australia. This book will appeal to researchers and students in anthropology, sociology, environmental studies, cultural studies, psychology and politics.

Climate Change and Social Ecology
Climate Change and Social Ecology

Author: Stephen M. Wheeler

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-05-23

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1136344187

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Although strategies to prevent global warming – such as by conserving energy, relying on solar and wind power, and reducing motor vehicle use – are well-known, societies have proved unable to implement these measures with the necessary speed. They have also been unwilling to confront underlying issues such as overconsumption, overpopulation, inequity, and dysfunctional political systems. Political and social obstacles have prevented the adoption of improved technologies, which would provide only a partial solution in any case if the fundamental causes of greenhouse gas emissions aren’t addressed. Climate Change and Social Ecology takes a new approach to the climate crisis, portraying global warming as a challenge of rapid social evolution. This book argues that, in order to address this impending catastrophe and bring about more sustainable development, we must focus on improving social ecology – our values, mind-sets, and social organization. Steps to do this include institutional reforms to improve democracy, educational strategies to encourage public understanding of complex issues, and measures to prevent corporations and the wealthy from shaping societies in other directions instead. This book presents a captivating vision of how to help social systems evolve toward sustainability and explores the social transformations needed for dealing with the climate crisis in the long term. It reviews the climate change strategies considered to date, presents a detailed description of a future sustainable society, and analyzes how this vision might be realized through more conscious public nurturing of our social systems. This interdisciplinary volume provides a compelling rethink of the climate crisis. Authoritative and accessible, it will be of great interest to anyone concerned about climate change and sustainability challenges and is essential reading for students, professionals, and general readers alike.

The Ecology of Tropical East Asia
The Ecology of Tropical East Asia

Author: Richard T. Corlett

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-08-21

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 0191503495

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Tropical East Asia is home to over one billion people and faces massive human impacts from its rising population and rapid economic growth. It has already lost more than two-thirds of its forest cover and has the highest rates of deforestation and logging in the tropics. Hunting, coupled with the relentless trade in wildlife products, threatens all its large and many of its smaller vertebrates. Despite these problems, the region still supports an estimated 15-25% of global terrestrial biodiversity and is therefore a key area for conservation. Effective conservation action depends on a clear understanding of the ecological patterns and processes in the region. The first edition of The Ecology of Tropical East Asia was the first book to describe the terrestrial ecology of the entire East Asian tropics and subtropics, from southern China to western Indonesia. This second edition updates the contents and extends the coverage to include the very similar ecosystems of northeast India and Bhutan. The book deals with plants, animals, and the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the diverse threats to their survival and the options for conservation. It provides the background knowledge of the region's ecology needed by both specialists and non-specialists to put their own work into a broader context. The accessible style, comprehensive coverage, and engaging illustrations make this advanced textbook an essential read for senior undergraduate and graduate level students studying the terrestrial ecology of the East Asian tropics, as well as an authoritative reference for professional ecologists, conservationists, and interested amateurs worldwide.

A Political Ecology of Women, Water and Global Environmental Change
A Political Ecology of Women, Water and Global Environmental Change

Author: Stephanie Buechler

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-02

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1317749820

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This edited volume explores how a feminist political ecology framework can bring fresh insights to the study of rural and urban livelihoods dependent on vulnerable rivers, lakes, watersheds, wetlands and coastal environments. Bringing together political ecologists and feminist scholars from multiple disciplines, the book develops solution-oriented advances to theory, policy and planning to tackle the complexity of these global environmental changes. Using applied research on the contemporary management of groundwater, springs, rivers, lakes, watersheds and coastal wetlands in Central and South Asia, Northern, Central and Southern Africa, and South and North America, the authors draw on a variety of methodological perspectives and new theoretical approaches to demonstrate the importance of considering multiple layers of social difference as produced by and central to the effective governance and local management of water resources. This unique collection employs a unifying feminist political ecology framework that emphasizes the ways that gender interacts with other social and geographical locations of water resource users. In doing so, the book further questions the normative gender discourses that underlie policies and practices surrounding rural and urban water management and climate change, water pollution, large-scale development and dams, water for crop and livestock production and processing, resource knowledge and expertise, and critical livelihood studies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental studies, development studies, feminist and environmental geography, anthropology, sociology, environmental philosophy, public policy, planning, media studies, Latin American and other area studies, as well as women’s and gender studies.

The Ecology of Tropical East Asia
The Ecology of Tropical East Asia

Author: Richard Corlett

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 0198817010

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This edition has been fully updated throughout, reflecting the explosion of new research in the region in the last few years and the increasing use of new tools, particularly genomics and remote sensing.

Paleontology in Ecology and Conservation
Paleontology in Ecology and Conservation

Author: Julien Louys

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-04-25

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 3642250386

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The fossil record contains unique long-term insights into how ecosystems form and function which cannot be determined simply by examining modern systems. It also provides a record of endangered species through time, which allow us to make conservation decisions based on thousands to millions of years of information. The aim of this book is to demonstrate how palaeontological data has been or could be incorporated into ecological or conservation scientific studies. This book will be written by palaeontologists for modern ecologists and conservation scientists. Manuscripts will fall into one (or a combination) of four broad categories: case studies, review articles, practical considerations and future directions. This book will serve as both a ‘how to guide’ and provide the current state of knowledge for this type of research. It will highlight the unique and critical insights that can be gained by the inclusion of palaeontological data into modern ecological or conservation studies.

Land Change Science, Political Ecology, and Sustainability
Land Change Science, Political Ecology, and Sustainability

Author: Christian Brannstrom

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-23

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1136262059

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Recent claims regarding convergence and divergence between land change science and political ecology as approaches to the study of human-environment relationships and sustainability science are examined and analyzed in this innovative volume. Comprised of 11 commissioned chapters as well as introductory and concluding/synthesis chapters, it advances the two fields by proposing new conceptual and methodological approaches toward integrating land change science and political ecology. The book also identifies areas of fundamental difference and disagreement between fields. These theoretical contributions will help a generation of young researchers refine their research approaches and will advance a debate among established scholars in geography, land-use studies, and sustainability science that has been developing since the early 2000s. At an empirical level, case studies focusing on sustainable development are included from Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. The specific topics addressed include tropical deforestation, swidden agriculture, mangrove forests, gender, and household issues.

Landscape and Quaternary Environmental Change in New Zealand
Landscape and Quaternary Environmental Change in New Zealand

Author: James Shulmeister

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-12-16

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9462392374

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This book brings together an overview of the recent geological history, active earth and biological processes and human settlement of New Zealand. Topics covered include the very active neotectonic and volcanic setting. Mountain geomorphic processes are examined and new ideas about landsliding are highlighted. The exceptional sedimentary archives of the Whanganui Basin are also presented. As one of two land masses that extend into the southern mid-latitudes, New Zealand is ideally located to investigate changes in Southern Ocean climate. Related to this, mountain glaciation in New Zealand is a focus in global climate change debates. New Zealand also has a unique biota due to its long isolation and is the last major land mass to be settled by people. Advances in DNA technologies have revolutionised our understanding of the histories and processes involved. The book provides a comprehensive review of existing work and highlights new ideas and major debates across all these fields.

Climate Change 2014 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Regional Aspects
Climate Change 2014 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Regional Aspects

Author: Christopher B. Field

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-12-29

Total Pages: 695

ISBN-13: 1107058163

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This latest Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will again form the standard reference for all those concerned with climate change and its consequences, including students, researchers and policy makers in environmental science, meteorology, climatology, biology, ecology, atmospheric chemistry and environmental policy.