Psammic Peinobiomes
Psammic Peinobiomes

Author: Joseph Alfred Zinck

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-09-30

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 3031207998

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The book represents a multidisciplinary approach to understanding soil–landscape–vegetation relationships and, specifically, the ecophysiology of plant communities developing on sandy soils of very low fertility that are subject to seasonal flooding. It provides an overview of the white sand ecosystems within the Amazon basin, and focuses on the forest and herbaceous (meadows) vegetation growing on the dystrophic sandy soils of the upper Negro and Orinoco river basins. Several chapters describe physiographic aspects of the study area using integrated remote sensing and in situ sampling. By doing so they attain a comprehensive description of the origin and evolution of soils and landscapes, an advanced classification of soils, and a mapping of the geographic distribution of psammophilous vegetation. This volume also provides a phytosociological classification of extensive forested areas, and a detailed description of the structure and diversity of little-known herbaceous formations.It targets professionals in the fields of ecology, ecophysiology, geomorphology, soils, vegetation, and the environmental sciences. The information it offers may be of significant use to researchers, protected area planners, and environmental policy makers.

Tarangire: Human-Wildlife Coexistence in a Fragmented Ecosystem
Tarangire: Human-Wildlife Coexistence in a Fragmented Ecosystem

Author: Christian Kiffner

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-04-22

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 303093604X

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This edited volume summarizes multidisciplinary work on wildlife conservation in the Tarangire Ecosystem of northern Tanzania. By drawing together human-centered, wildlife-centered, and interdisciplinary research, this book contributes to furthering our understanding of the often complex mechanisms underlying human-wildlife interactions in dynamic landscapes. By synthesizing the wealth of knowledge generated by anthropologists, ecologists, conservationists, entrepreneurs, geographers, sociologists, and zoologists over the last decades, this book also highlights practicable and locally adapted solutions for shaping human-wildlife interactions towards coexistence. Readers will discover the reciprocal and often unexpected direct and indirect dynamics between people and wildlife. While boundaries (e.g. between people and wildlife, between protected and un-protected areas, and between different groups of people) are a common theme throughout the different chapters, this book stresses the commonalities, links, and synergies between seemingly disparate disciplines, opinions, and conservation approaches. The chapters are divided into clear sections, such as the human dimension, the wildlife dimension and human-wildlife interactions, representing a detailed summary of anthropological, ecological, and interdisciplinary research projects that have been conducted in the Tarangire Ecosystem over the last decades. Beyond, this work contributes to the debate about land-sharing versus land-sparing and provides an in-depth case study for understanding the complexities associated with human-wildlife coexistence in one of the few remaining ecosystems that supports migratory populations of large mammals. The topic of this book is particularly relevant for students, scholars, and practitioners who are interested in reconciling the needs of human populations with those of the environment in general and large mammal populations in particular.

Ecosystem Collapse and Climate Change
Ecosystem Collapse and Climate Change

Author: Josep G. Canadell

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-06-19

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 303071330X

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Human-driven greenhouse emissions are increasing the velocity of climate change and the frequency and intensity of climate extremes far above historical levels. These changes, along with other human-perturbations, are setting the conditions for more rapid and abrupt ecosystem dynamics and collapse. This book presents new evidence on the rapid emergence of ecosystem collapse in response to the progression of anthropogenic climate change dynamics that are expected to intensify as the climate continues to warm. Discussing implications for biodiversity conservation, the chapters provide examples of such dynamics globally covering polar and boreal ecosystems, temperate and semi-arid ecosystems, as well as tropical and temperate coastal ecosystems. Given its scope, the volume appeals to scientists in the fields of general ecology, terrestrial and coastal ecology, climate change impacts, and biodiversity conservation.

Forest-Water Interactions
Forest-Water Interactions

Author: Delphis F. Levia

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2020-02-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783030260859

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The United Nations has declared 2018-2028 as the International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development. This is a timely designation. In an increasingly thirsty world, the subject of forest-water interactions is of critical importance to the achievement of sustainability goals. The central underlying tenet of this book is that the hydrologic community can conduct better science and make a more meaningful impact to the world’s water crisis if scientists are: (1) better equipped to utilize new methods and harness big data from either or both high-frequency sensors and long-term research watersheds; and (2) aware of new developments in our process-based understanding of the hydrological cycle in both natural and urban settings. Accordingly, this forward-looking book delves into forest-water interactions from multiple methodological, statistical, and process-based perspectives (with some chapters featuring data sets and open-source R code), concluding with a chapter on future forest hydrology under global change. Thus, this book describes the opportunities of convergence in high-frequency sensing, big data, and open source software to catalyze more comprehensive understanding of forest-water interactions. The book will be of interest to researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates in an array of disciplines, including hydrology, forestry, ecology, botany, and environmental engineering.

Amazonian Floodplain Forests
Amazonian Floodplain Forests

Author: Wolfgang J. Junk

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-09-27

Total Pages: 620

ISBN-13: 9048187257

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Central Amazonian floodplain forests are an unique and endangered ecosystem. The forests grow in areas that are annually flooded by large rivers during mean periods of up to 8 months and at depths of up to 10 m. Despite this severe stress, these forests consist of over 1,000 species and are by far the most species-rich floodplain forests worldwide. The trees show a broad range of morphological, anatomical, physiological, and phenological adaptations that enable them not only to survive the adverse environmental conditions, but also to produce large amounts of biomass when the nutrient levels in water and soils are sufficiently high. This is the case in the floodplains of white-water rivers, which are used for fisheries, agriculture, and cattle-ranching but which also have a high potential for the production of timber and non-timber products, when adequately managed. Latest research on ecophysiology gives insight how tree species adapt to the oscillating flood-pulse focusing on their photosynthesis, respiration, sap flow, biochemistry, phenology, wood and leave anatomy, root morphology and functioning, fruit chemistry, seed germination, seedling establishment, nitrogen fixation and genetic variability. Based on tree ages, lifetime growth rates and net primary production, new concepts are developed to improve the sustainability of traditional forest managements in the background of an integrated natural resource management. This is the first integrative book on the functioning and ecologically oriented use of floodplain forests in the tropics and sub-tropics.It provides fundamental knowledge for scientist, students, foresters and other professionals on their distribution, evolution and phytogeography. “This book is an excellent testimony to the interdisciplinary collaboration of a group of very dedicated scientists to unravel the functioning of the Amazonian Floodplain forests. They have brought together a highly valuable contribution on the distribution, ecology, primary production, ecophysiology, typology, biodiversity, and human use of these forests offering recommendations for sustainable management and future projects in science and development of these unique wetland ecosystems. It lays a solid scientific foundation for wetland ecologists, foresters, environmentalists, wetland managers, and all those interested in sustainable management in the tropics and subtropics.” Brij Gopal, Executive Vice President International Society for Limnology (SIL).

Water and the Rainforest in Malaysian Borneo
Water and the Rainforest in Malaysian Borneo

Author: Ian Douglas

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-01

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 3030915441

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This volume synthesizes and analyzes thirty years of hydrological research in the Danum Valley Conservation Area, a lowland dipterocarp rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Ian Douglas explores the role of water in the rainforest ecosystem, setting out the ecological, climatological and geological context of present-day hydrological processes, soil erosion and stream sedimentation. He emphasizes the role of extreme events and natural disturbances in sediment supplies and the evolution of drainage pathways and explains the pathways of rainfall and stream sediment. Douglas then explores the impacts caused by logging, the extreme pulses of sedimentation and the effects of log removal and logging road construction, examining the effects of major storms in the 20 years after tree harvesting. Methods of minimizing logging damage to soils and streams are discussed and the effects on flora and fauns are considered.

Amazon
Amazon

Author: Paul A Collinvaux

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2003-09-02

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 1482283603

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Amazon will prove a powerful tool for ecologists and climate modelers. It also contains brief reviews of pioneering pollen work in the Amazon to date; sections on pollen methods, pollen statistics, paleoecology, and lake coring methods.

Microbiology of Hot Deserts
Microbiology of Hot Deserts

Author: Jean-Baptiste Ramond

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783030984168

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This book covers the wider aspects of the microbiology of hot desert soil ecosystems, compiling disparate information from a range of relevant desert soil microbial fields. The reader learns about microbial ecology of the more dominant and possibly most important desert habitats, detailing the phylogenetic and functional diversity of these different habitats as well as their potential role in desert ecosystem ecology. Particular attention is also given to microbial stress adaptation in hot desert soils. Furthermore, it is the first volume in this particular field to cover modern metagenomics technologies that can be applied to studies of all aspects of desert microbial communities. Additionally, the book explores viruses and viral communities, which are among the least studied (and little understood) components of desert soil microbial communities. Particular attention is also given to the roles of desert microbial communities in biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Through this book the reader discovers how desert microbiology has been at the forefront of Astrobiology and how it may be used conceptually in future terraforming strategies. Desert ecosystems are increasingly coming into focus given the impacts of climate change and desertification trends, making this volume particularly timely. Each of the chapters is authored by leading international researchers and is a must-read for microbial ecologists. .

Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution
Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution

Author: Carina Hoorn

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-09-26

Total Pages: 869

ISBN-13: 1444360256

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The book focuses on geological history as the critical factor in determining the present biodiversity and landscapes of Amazonia. The different driving mechanisms for landscape evolution are explored by reviewing the history of the Amazonian Craton, the associated sedimentary basins, and the role of mountain uplift and climate change. This book provdes an insight into the Meso- and Cenozoic record of Amazonia that was characterized by fluvial and long-lived lake systems and a highly diverse flora and fauna. This fauna includes giants such as the ca. 12 m long caiman Purussaurus, but also a varied fish fauna and fragile molluscs, whilst fossil pollen and spores form relics of ancestral swamps and rainforests. Finally, a review the molecular datasets of the modern Amazonian rainforest and aquatic ecosystem, discussing the possible relations between the origin of Amazonian species diversity and the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution of northern South America. The multidisciplinary approach in evaluating the history of Amazonia has resulted in a comprehensive volume that provides novel insights into the evolution of this region.

Time and Complexity in Historical Ecology
Time and Complexity in Historical Ecology

Author: William Balée

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2006-06-22

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0231509618

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This collection of studies by anthropologists, botanists, ecologists, and biologists is an important contribution to the emerging field of historical ecology. The book combines cutting-edge research with new perspectives to emphasize the close relationship between humans and their natural environment. Contributors examine how alterations in the natural world mirror human cultures, societies, and languages. Treating the landscape like a text, these researchers decipher patterns and meaning in the Ecuadorian Andes, Amazonia, the desert coast of Peru, and other regions in the neotropics. They show how local peoples have changed the landscape over time to fit their needs by managing and modifying species diversity, enhancing landscape heterogeneity, and controlling ecological disturbance. In turn, the environment itself becomes a form of architecture rich with historical and archaeological significance. Time and Complexity in Historical Ecology explores thousands of years of ecological history while also addressing important contemporary issues, such as biodiversity and genetic variation and change. Engagingly written and expertly researched, this book introduces and exemplifies a unique method for better understanding the link between humans and the biosphere.