"The book is based on the author's work in Samoa that spans the last three decades. The information on the species presented (about 140 of them) includes the scientific name, Samoan and English names (if any), synonyms, the botanical family to which the plant belongs, and the range of the species. This is followed by the habitat, ethnobotanical uses in Samoa, and a complete botanical description, including a condensed "Distinguishing Characters." Each species is covered by one to four color photographs.
"This book is for the person who lives in the tropics or subtropics and is interested in native plants, who wants to know about plants that are useful, who loves to watch plants grow, and who is willing to work with them. Such a person might ask questions like, Where will they grow? How do I grow them? Are they good to eat? How are they used? What are their names? These questions and more are answered here."--Préface
This book is the first comprehensive global review of all aspects of alien plant invasions in protected areas. It provides insights into advances in invasion ecology emanating from work in protected areas, and the link to locally relevant management support for protected areas. The book provides in-depth case studies, illuminating interesting and insightful knowledge that can be shared across the global protected area network. The book includes the collective understanding of 80 ecologists and managers to extract as much information as possible that will support the long-term management of protected areas, and the biodiversity and associated ecosystem services they maintain. “This outstanding volume draws together pretty much all that can be said on this topic, ranging from the science, through policy, to practical action”. Dr. Simon N. Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission, UK. "This important and timely volume addresses two of the most serious problems affecting biodiversity conservation today: assessing the extent to which protected areas are impacted by biological invasions and the complex problems of managing these impacts. Written by leading specialists, it provides a comprehensive overview of the issues and gives detailed examples drawn from protected areas across the world". Professor Vernon H. Heywood, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK
The Samoan Rainforest is based on numerous visits to Samoa by the author during the last thirty years to study the vegetation of Samoa. Most vegetation studies are not correlated with the flora, but in this book every effort is made to tie in the flora of Samoa with the vegetation. This book is directed at students at college, or high school level wishing to study the vegetation of the archipelago. It should be particularly useful for biologists and teachers wanting to know more about the tropical environment (as well as about the world tropics). It is meant as a beginning to give an overall view of the vegetation and its associated species.
Islands have captured the imagination of scientists and the public for centuries—unique and rare environments, their isolation makes them natural laboratories for ecology and evolution. This authoritative, alphabetically arranged reference, featuring more than 200 succinct articles by leading scientists from around the world, provides broad coverage of all the island sciences. But what exactly is an island? The volume editors define it here as any discrete habitat isolated from other habitats by inhospitable surroundings. The Encyclopedia of Islands examines many such insular settings—oceanic and continental islands as well as places such as caves, mountaintops, and whale falls at the bottom of the ocean. This essential, one-stop resource, extensively illustrated with color photographs, clear maps, and graphics will introduce island science to a wide audience and spur further research on some of the planet's most fascinating habitats.
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.
