Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World
Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World

Author: Dominick A. DellaSala

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1597266760

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Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics. In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint. Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests. A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the world’s temperate and boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia). This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.

Rainforest
Rainforest

Author: Tony Juniper

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2019-09-19

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 1642830720

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Rainforests have long been recognized as hotspots of biodiversity—but they are crucial for our planet in other surprising ways. Not only do these fascinating ecosystems thrive in rainy regions, they create rain themselves, and this moisture is spread around the globe. Rainforests across the world have a powerful and concrete impact, reaching as far as America’s Great Plains and central Europe. In Rainforest: Dispatches from Earth’s Most Vital Frontlines, a prominent conservationist provides a comprehensive view of the crucial roles rainforests serve, the state of the world’s rainforests today, and the inspirational efforts underway to save them. In Rainforest, Tony Juniper draws upon decades of work in rainforest conservation. He brings readers along on his journeys, from the thriving forests of Costa Rica to Indonesia, where palm oil plantations have supplanted much of the former rainforest. Despite many ominous trends, Juniper sees hope for rainforests and those who rely upon them, thanks to developments like new international agreements, corporate deforestation policies, and movements from local and Indigenous communities. As climate change intensifies, we have already begun to see the effects of rainforest destruction on the planet at large. Rainforest provides a detailed and wide-ranging look at the health and future of these vital ecosystems. Throughout this evocative book, Juniper argues that in saving rainforests, we save ourselves, too.

Anteaters, Bats & Boas
Anteaters, Bats & Boas

Author: Roxie Munro

Publisher: Holiday House

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 43

ISBN-13: 0823446565

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Macaws squawk, snakes coil, and monkeys swing. Follow true-to-size rain forest animals as they journey through a noisy, colorful ecosystem like no other on Earth. Bright, realistic illustrations of a busy Amazon rain forest depict a plethora of creatures-- all drawn at life size!-- going about their daily lives, from a family of three-toed sloths to a four-page, forty inch wide, foldout of an anteater. Simply-written, intriguing descriptions accompany the rich artwork, revealing the animals' habitats and introducing fascinating trivia about the creatures and their ecosystem. A two-page key reveals how all the illustrated spreads fit together into one huge panorama showcasing all four layers of an Amazonian rainforest. Readers can retrace their steps and follow the journey, from the forest floor to the heights of the canopy, revisiting all the unique creatures along the way. Budding conservationists will love this immersive introduction to one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Over half the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests such as the Amazon. Protecting rain forests from the devastating effects of logging, mining, and climate change is essential to ensure the survival of so many fascinating creatures. A glossary, description of the four layers of the rainforest, an index, a map of rainforests worldwide, and a section on protecting rain forests are included in the backmatter of this well-researched, beautiful picture book. For another life-size journey through a fascinating ecosystem, don't miss Roxie Munro's Dive In! A Booklist Top 10 Sci-Tech Book for Young Readers

Tropical Rain Forests
Tropical Rain Forests

Author: Richard T. Corlett

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-03-03

Total Pages: 485

ISBN-13: 144439228X

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The first edition of Tropical Rain Forests: an Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison exploded the myth of ‘the rain forest’ as a single, uniform entity. In reality, the major tropical rain forest regions, in tropical America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and New Guinea, have as many differences as similarities, as a result of their isolation from each other during the evolution of their floras and faunas. This new edition reinforces this message with new examples from recent and on-going research. After an introduction to the environments and geological histories of the major rain forest regions, subsequent chapters focus on plants, primates, carnivores and plant-eaters, birds, fruit bats and gliding animals, and insects, with an emphasis on the ecological and biogeographical differences between regions. This is followed by a new chapter on the unique tropical rain forests of oceanic islands. The final chapter, which has been completely rewritten, deals with the impacts of people on tropical rain forests and discusses possible conservation strategies that take into account the differences highlighted in the previous chapters. This exciting and very readable book, illustrated throughout with color photographs, will be invaluable reading for undergraduate students in a wide range of courses as well as an authoritative reference for graduate and professional ecologists, conservationists, and interested amateurs.

The Fate of the Forest
The Fate of the Forest

Author: Susanna B. Hecht

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2011-01-15

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 0226322734

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The Amazon rain forest covers more than five million square kilometers, amid the territories of nine different nations. It represents over half of the planet’s remaining rain forest. Is it truly in peril? What steps are necessary to save it? To understand the future of Amazonia, one must know how its history was forged: in the eras of large pre-Columbian populations, in the gold rush of conquistadors, in centuries of slavery, in the schemes of Brazil’s military dictators in the 1960s and 1970s, and in new globalized economies where Brazilian soy and beef now dominate, while the market in carbon credits raises the value of standing forest. Susanna Hecht and Alexander Cockburn show in compelling detail the panorama of destruction as it unfolded, and also reveal the extraordinary turnaround that is now taking place, thanks to both the social movements, and the emergence of new environmental markets. Exploring the role of human hands in destroying—and saving—this vast forested region, The Fate of the Forest pivots on the murder of Chico Mendes, the legendary labor and environmental organizer assassinated after successful confrontations with big ranchers. A multifaceted portrait of Eden under siege, complete with a new preface and afterword by the authors, this book demonstrates that those who would hold a mirror up to nature must first learn the lessons offered by some of their own people.

Cultural Forests of the Amazon
Cultural Forests of the Amazon

Author: William Balée

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2013-08-20

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0817317864

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Winner of the Society for Economic Botany's Mary W. Klinger Book Award. Cultural Forests of the Amazon is a comprehensive and diverse account of how indigenous people transformed landscapes and managed resources in the most extensive region of tropical forests in the world. Until recently, most scholars and scientists, as well as the general public, thought indigenous people had a minimal impact on Amazon forests, once considered to be total wildernesses. William Balée’s research, conducted over a span of three decades, shows a more complicated truth. In Cultural Forests of the Amazon, he argues that indigenous people, past and present, have time and time again profoundly transformed nature into culture. Moreover, they have done so using their traditional knowledge and technology developed over thousands of years. Balée demonstrates the inestimable value of indigenous knowledge in providing guideposts for a potentially less destructive future for environments and biota in the Amazon. He shows that we can no longer think about species and landscape diversity in any tropical forest without taking into account the intricacies of human history and the impact of all forms of knowledge and technology. Balée describes the development of his historical ecology approach in Amazonia, along with important material on little-known forest dwellers and their habitats, current thinking in Amazonian historical ecology, and a narrative of his own dialogue with the Amazon and its people.

Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change
Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change

Author: Mark B. Bush

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 427

ISBN-13: 3540239081

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The goal of this book is to provide a current overview of the impacts of climate change on tropical forests, to investigate past, present, and future climatic influences on the ecosystems with the highest biodiversity on the planet.Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change will be the first book to examine how tropical rain forest ecology is altered by climate change, rather than simply seeing how plant communities were altered. Shifting the emphasis onto ecological processes e.g. how diversity is structured by climate and the subsequent impact on tropical forest ecology, provides the reader with a more comprehensive coverage. A major theme of this book that emerges progressively is the interaction between humans, climate and forest ecology. While numerous books have appeared dealing with forest fragmentation and conservation, none have explicitly explored the long term occupation of tropical systems, the influence of fire and the future climatic effects of deforestation, coupled with anthropogenic emissions. Incorporating modelling of past and future systems paves the way for a discussion of conservation from a climatic perspective, rather than the usual plea to stop logging.

50 Simple Steps to Save the World's Rainforests
50 Simple Steps to Save the World's Rainforests

Author: Kim Henderson

Publisher: SCB Distributors

Published: 2012-03-12

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1893910962

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Despite the very best conservation and environmental policy-making efforts, at least 80,000 acres of tropical rainforest disappear each day. If action is not taken now, experts estimate that the world’s rainforests will mostly disappear within 50 years. Currently, the destruction of tropical forests is responsible for 17 percent of man-made carbon emissions-more than what comes from all the world’s cars, airplanes and ships combined! Tropical rainforests need our help-and that’s where 50 Simple Steps to Save the World’s Rainforests comes in. The future of the world’s rainforests lies to a large extent in the collective hands of consumers and how they shop, since demand is what fuels the forces driving deforestation-agriculture, logging, and resource extraction. Through the 50-step journey, you will learn how, as a consumer, you may unwittingly support rainforest destruction and more importantly, precisely how you can make different choices that help save rainforests. For example, you will learn how your paper use and purchases of rayon clothing affect Indonesian rainforests where Sumatran tigers are critically endangered or how simply eating Brazil nuts helps save the Amazon rainforest. You will discover how the cultivation of palm oil, a common ingredient in confections, baked goods, soaps and biofuels, is fueling rampant deforestation in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and how you can avoid it. 50 Simple Steps to Save the Rainforests is the ultimate primer for anyone wanting to take action to help save this ecosystem, which is so critical to the future of mankind.

Rain Forests Around the World
Rain Forests Around the World

Author: Mary Kate Bolinder

Publisher: Teacher Created Materials

Published: 2024-02-13

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13: 1087690218

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Explore rain forests around the world! This social studies book details the climates and biodiversity of Earth’s major rain forests. Find out how rain forests have changed through time, and learn how to protect and preserve these natural lands. This teacher-approved book offers students opportunities to learn more about diverse rain forests, including the history of indigenous peoples in rain forests around the world. The book covers the geography, history, and resources of 6 major rain forests in an easy-to-follow way. With a glossary and index, important discussion questions, and other useful features, this book brings the wonders of Earth’s rain forests to life for students.

Explore My World Rain Forests
Explore My World Rain Forests

Author: Marfe Delano

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 1426328281

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Curious kids will learn all about the rainforest, from jungle predators to colorful treetop birds to plants that thrive in this lush landscape. -- Adapted from Amazon.com summary.