Grassland, Forest, and Historical Settlement
Author: Michael John O'Brien
Publisher:
Published: 1984
Total Pages: 376
ISBN-13:
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Forgotten Grasslands of the South
Author: Reed F. Noss
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 2012-12-03
Total Pages: 353
ISBN-13: 159726489X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKForgotten Grasslands of the South is the study of one of the biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. In a seamless blend of science and personal observation, renowned ecologist Reed Noss explains the natural history of southern grasslands, their origin and history, and the physical determinants of grassland distribution, including ecology, soils, landform, and hydrology. In addition to offering fascinating new information about these little-studied ecosystems, Noss demonstrates how natural history is central to the practice of conservation. Although theory and experimentation have recently dominated the field of ecology, ecologists are coming to realize how these distinct approaches are not divergent but complementary, and that pursuing them together can bring greater knowledge and understanding of how the natural world works and how we can best conserve it. This long-awaited work sets a new standard for scientific literature and is essential reading for those who study and work to conserve the grasslands of the South as well as for everyone who is fascinated by the natural world.
American Environmental History
Author: Carolyn Merchant
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2007-10-31
Total Pages: 505
ISBN-13: 0231512384
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBy studying the many ways diverse peoples have changed, shaped, and conserved the natural world over time, environmental historians provide insight into humanity's unique relationship with nature and, more importantly, are better able to understand the origins of our current environmental crisis. Beginning with the precolonial land-use practice of Native Americans and concluding with our twenty-first century concerns over our global ecological crisis, American Environmental History addresses contentious issues such as the preservation of the wilderness, the expulsion of native peoples from national parks, and population growth, and considers the formative forces of gender, race, and class. Entries address a range of topics, from the impact of rice cultivation, slavery, and the growth of the automobile suburb to the effects of the Russian sea otter trade, Columbia River salmon fisheries, the environmental justice movement, and globalization. This illustrated reference is an essential companion for students interested in the ongoing transformation of the American landscape and the conflicts over its resources and conservation. It makes rich use of the tools and resources (climatic and geological data, court records, archaeological digs, and the writings of naturalists) that environmental historians rely on to conduct their research. The volume also includes a compendium of significant people, concepts, events, agencies, and legislation, and an extensive bibliography of critical films, books, and Web sites.
Historical Archaeology
Author: Charles E. Orser, Jr.
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-08-05
Total Pages: 412
ISBN-13: 1317297075
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book provides a short, readable introduction to historical archaeology, which focuses on modern history in all its fascinating regional, cultural, and ethnic diversity. Accessibly covering key methods and concepts, including fundamental theories and principles, the history of the field, and basic definitions, Historical Archaeology also includes a practical look at career prospects for interested readers. Orser discusses central topics of archaeological research such as time and space, survey and excavation methods, and analytical techniques, encouraging readers to consider the possible meanings of artifacts. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience as an historical archaeologist, the book’s perspective ranges from the local to the global in order to demonstrate the real importance of this subject to our understanding of the world in which we live today. The third edition of this popular textbook has been significantly revised and expanded to reflect recent developments and discoveries in this exciting area of study. Each chapter includes updated case studies which demonstrate the research conducted by professional historical archaeologists. With its engaging approach to the subject, Historical Archaeology continues to be an ideal resource for readers who wish to be introduced to this rapidly expanding global field.
Bluegrass Paradise
Author: Gary A. O'Dell
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2023-03-28
Total Pages: 392
ISBN-13: 0813196728
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the earliest days of the United States as settlers made their way west and into what would eventually become Kentucky, they were faced with many challenges in the task of surveying and claiming new and unknown land. Among the highest priorities for new residents was to determine if their chosen homestead could provide the fertile soil and fresh water they needed to sustain life and service their agricultural needs. Kentucky, with its underlying base of predominantly limestone rock—perfectly suited to the natural formation of caves, sinking streams, and springs of cool water—proved the ideal location on which to build their new lives. In Bluegrass Paradise: Royal Spring and the Birth of Georgetown, Kentucky, author Gary A. O'Dell tells the story of the Royal Spring, the largest spring in central Kentucky. Practical and essential to the creation of a successful settlement, the spring and its location became the primary reason pioneers would eventually congregate here and found the city of Georgetown as one of the earliest Kentucky communities. In the ensuing 250 years, the Royal Spring has faithfully served the water needs of the community and the locale remains a cherished cultural and historical asset that provides greenspace within a rapidly growing city.
Grazing Ecology and Forest History
Author: F. W. M. Vera
Publisher: CABI
Published: 2000-01-01
Total Pages: 506
ISBN-13: 9780851994420
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIt is a widely held belief that a climax vegetation of closed forest systems covered the lowlands of Central and Western Europe before man intervened in prehistoric times to develop agriculture. If this intervention had not taken place, the forest would still be there, and if left the grassland vegetation and fields now present would revert to a natural closed forest state, although with a reduced number of wild species. This book, which an updated and expanded version of the author's 1997 thesis (presented to the Wageningen University, Netherlands), challenges the traditional view, using examples from history, pollen analyses and studies on the ecology of tree and shrub species such as oak and hazel. It tests the hypothesis that the climax vegetation is a closed canopy forest, against the alternative hypothesis that species composition and vegetational succession were governed by large herbivores, and that the Central and Western European lowlands were covered by a park-like landscape consisting of grasslands, scrub, solitary trees and groves bordered by a mantle and fringe vegetation. Comparative information from the eastern USA is also included throughout the book (this was not present in the thesis), because the forests there are commonly regarded as being analogous to the primeval vegetation in Europe. The book is arranged in 7 chapters: (1) General introduction and formulation of the problem; (2) Succession, the climax forest and the role of large herbivores; (3) Palynology, the forest as climax in prehistoric times and the effects of humans; (4) The use of the wilderness from the Middle Ages up to 1900; (5) Spontaneous succession in forest reserves in the lowlands of Western and Central Europe - including examples from France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Sweden, Poland; (6) Establishment of trees and shrubs in relation to light and grazing; and (7) Final synthesis and conclusions. Twelve appendices are included giving further information, and there are 67 pages of references and a subject index.
Ecotones Between Forest and Grassland
Author: Randall W. Myster
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Published: 2012-07-10
Total Pages: 333
ISBN-13: 1461437970
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEcotones are dynamic over-lapping boundary areas where major terrestrial biomes meet. As past studies have shown, and as the chapters in this book will illustrate, their structure, size, and scope have changed considerably over the millennia, expanding and shrinking as climate and/or other driving conditions, also changed. Today, however, many of them are changing at a rate not seen for a long time, perhaps largely due to climate change and other human-induced factors. Indeed ecotones are more sensitive to climate change than the biomes on either side, and thus may serve as critical early indicators of future climate change. As ecotones change, they also redefine the limits of the biomes on either side by altering their distributions of species because, in addition to their own endemic species, any ecotone will also have species from both adjoining biomes. Consequently, they may also be places of high levels of species interaction, serving as active evolutionary laboratories, which generate new species that then migrate back into adjacent biomes. Ecotones Between Forest and Grassland explores how these ecotones have changed in the past, how they are changing today, and how they are likely to change in the future. The book includes chapters from around the world with a special focus on South American and Neotropical ecotones.
Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology
Author: Charles E. Orser Jnr
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2002-09-11
Total Pages: 1058
ISBN-13: 1134608616
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology is a ground-breaking compendium of information about this ever-growing field. Concentrating on the post-1400 period as well as containing generic explanations of historical archaeology where needed, the encyclopedia is compiled by over 120 experts from around the world and contains more than 370 entries covering important concepts and sites.
Grasslands of the World
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 548
ISBN-13: 9789251053379
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book brings together information on the contrasting characteristics, condition, present use and problems of the world's main natural grasslands. Since grassland is commercialized through the grazing animal, particular attention is paid to the livestock production systems associated with each main type. Grazing resources are more than simply edible herbage: many other factors have to be taken into account, notably water in all areas, and shelter in winter-cold climates. Seasonality of forage supply is a characteristic of almost all grazing lands, so the strategies for dealing with lean seasons are described. The main problems of each type are mentioned and possible strategies for their sustainable management discussed - taking into account their multiple functions, not only livestock production. The book is primarily aimed at agricultural scientists, educationalists, extensionists and decision-makers with interests in responsible use of extensive grasslands.
The Agrarian Origins of American Capitalism
Author: Allan Kulikoff
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: 1992
Total Pages: 366
ISBN-13: 9780813914206
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAllan Kulikoff's provocative new book traces the rural origins and growth of capitalism in America, challenging earlier scholarship and charting a new course for future studies in history and economics. Kulikoff argues that long before the explosive growth of cities and big factories, capitalism in the countryside changed our society- the ties between men and women, the relations between different social classes, the rhetoric of the yeomanry, slave migration, and frontier settlement. He challenges the received wisdom that associates the birth of capitalism wholly with New York, Philadelphia, and Boston and show how studying the critical market forces at play in farm and village illuminates the defining role of the yeomen class in the origins of capitalism.
