Perspectives on Biodiversity

Perspectives on Biodiversity

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-10-01

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 030906581X

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Resource-management decisions, especially in the area of protecting and maintaining biodiversity, are usually incremental, limited in time by the ability to forecast conditions and human needs, and the result of tradeoffs between conservation and other management goals. The individual decisions may not have a major effect but can have a cumulative major effect. Perspectives on Biodiversity reviews current understanding of the value of biodiversity and the methods that are useful in assessing that value in particular circumstances. It recommends and details a list of components-including diversity of species, genetic variability within and among species, distribution of species across the ecosystem, the aesthetic satisfaction derived from diversity, and the duty to preserve and protect biodiversity. The book also recommends that more information about the role of biodiversity in sustaining natural resources be gathered and summarized in ways useful to managers. Acknowledging that decisions about biodiversity are necessarily qualitative and change over time because of the nonmarket nature of so many of the values, the committee recommends periodic reviews of management decisions.


Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

Author: Michel Loreau

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9780198515715

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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.


Functional Roles of Biodiversity

Functional Roles of Biodiversity

Author: Harold A. Mooney

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 530

ISBN-13:

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Biodiversity refers to the three attributes of living environments: the variety of distinct ecosystems they contain; the number of species within them; and the range of genetic diversity within the populations of each of these species. This book presents a synthesis of ideas emerging from 15 biome-specific workshops exploring our current knowledge of the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes. The contributions offer an assessment of the consequences of human activities at the ecosystem level and provide an appropriate framework for making future policy decisions.


Biodiversity

Biodiversity

Author: Takuya Abe

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 146121906X

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Despite acknowledgment that loss of living diversity is an international biological crisis, the ecological causes and consequences of extinction have not yet been widely addressed. In honor of Edward O. Wilson, winner of the 1993 International Prize for Biology, an international group of distinguished biologists bring ecological, evolutionary, and management perspectives to the issue of biodiversity. The roles of ecosystem processes, community structure and population dynamics are considered in this book. The goal, as Wilson writes in his introduction, is "to assemble concepts that unite the disciplines of systematics and ecology, and in so doing to create a sound scientific basis for the future management of biodiversity."


Biodiversity and Savanna Ecosystem Processes

Biodiversity and Savanna Ecosystem Processes

Author: Otto T. Solbrig

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-07

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 3642789692

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Savannas are the most widespread ecosystem in the tropics and as such are subjected to great human pressure that may result in massive soil degradation. The book addresses the role of species in the function of savanna ecosystems. It is shown that savannas are enormously diverse and that four factors determine the function of savanna ecosystems: Plant Available Moisture; Plant Available Nutrients; Fire; Herbivores.


Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Author: Carsten Hobohm

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-02-05

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 3030577104

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The novelty of the book is a strong focus on perception, perspectives and prediction by scientists with profound insight into the ecology of ecosystems or into human demands and activity. The challenge is to bridge from empirical data and the knowledge of the past to the possibilities of the performance in the future. We assume that there is scope for more cooperation between the fields of ecology and practical philosophy or other social sciences in organising ecosystems and shaping the cultural future of humankind, and that such collaboration should be accorded considerably more priority. This book deals with environmental processes seen within a framework of the nature of ecosystems and human cultures. The future of the environment, the development of ecosystems and effective nature conservation management are the essentials of this book. Human nature and culture, and in particular their interactions, are interpreted as a set of rules and as given. The aim is not only to assess the significance of human influence on species composition and biodiversity but also to weigh up the subsequent potentials for action. In this book we will analyze the problems independently of one another, even if they are interconnected. This book focuses on perspectives and prognoses for the impacts of anthropogenic activity on ecosystems and thus on species conservation. Its goal is to improve assessments of the impacts of human activity on the environment. We are aware that prognoses have very often proven to be false. It is difficult to impossible to be able to predict with precision how evolution and ecosystems will change in future under anthropogenic influence. This strengthens our resolve to attempt to retain the highest possible degree of scientific integrity and professionalism and not to shy away from expressing the uncertainty of our own ideas and prognoses. We venture prognoses in this book and we will fail. However, we hope that we will be wrong on the right side.


Biodiversity Offsets

Biodiversity Offsets

Author: Wolfgang Wende

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-03-07

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 3319725815

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This book deals with the new concept of biodiversity offsets. The aim of offsetting schemes is to achieve no let loss or even net gain of biodiversity. Offsets obey a mitigation hierarchy and reflect the precautionary and polluter-pays principle in regard to project impacts. Readers gain insights into current debates on biodiversity policies, with top experts outlining theoretical principles and the latest research findings. At the same time the focus is on practical application and case studies. Today there is a lively international discussion among practitioners and scientists on the optimal legal framework, metrics and design of habitat banks to ensure the success of biodiversity offsets and to minimise the risks of failure or misuse. Contributing to the debate, this volume presents the activities and practices of biodiversity offsetting already implemented in Europe in selected EU member states, and the lessons that can be learnt from them. Readers may be surprised at how much experience already exists in these countries. A further aim of the book is to offer grounded insights on the road ahead, and foster a more intensive and fruitful discussion on how offsetting can be extended and improved upon, so that it becomes a key and effective component of Europe’s biodiversity conservation policy framework.


Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

Author: Melissa R. Marselle

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-06-11

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 3030023184

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This open access book identifies and discusses biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the book identifies the implications of this relationship for nature conservation, public health, landscape architecture and urban planning – and considers the opportunities of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. This transdisciplinary book will attract a wide audience interested in biodiversity, ecology, resource management, public health, psychology, urban planning, and landscape architecture. The emphasis is on multiple human health benefits from biodiversity - in particular with respect to the increasing challenge of climate change. This makes the book unique to other books that focus either on biodiversity and physical health or natural environments and mental wellbeing. The book is written as a definitive ‘go-to’ book for those who are new to the field of biodiversity and health.


Economic Valuation of Biodiversity

Economic Valuation of Biodiversity

Author: Bartosz Bartkowski

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1351708171

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This book provides an ecological economic perspective on the value of diversity in ecosystems. Combining insights from various sub-disciplines of ecology and environmental/ecological economics the author constructs a conceptual framework which identifies the ways in which biodiversity influences human well-being are identified and offers a novel, unifying perspective on the economic value of biodiversity.


Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function

Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function

Author:

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2019-10-12

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 0081029136

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Advances in Ecological Research, Volume 61, the latest release in this ongoing series includes specific chapters on the Mechanistic links between biodiversity and ecosystem function, A multitrophic, eco-evolutionary perspective on biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research, Linking species coexistence to ecosystem functioning - a conceptual framework from ecological first principles, Species contributions to above and below ground biodiversity effects in the Trait-Based Experiment, Plant diversity effects on element cycling, Plant diversity effects on consumer community structure, stability, and ecosystem function, Plant community assembly and the consequences for ecosystem function, and more. - Provides information that relates to a thorough understanding of the field of ecology - Deals with topical and important reviews on the physiologies, populations and communities of plants and animals