Describes the different aspects of tropical forests including climate, plants, animals, and people and contains detailed maps of key rainforests in Central America and Southeast Asia, the Amazon and Congo Rain Forests, and forests in New Guinea.
Provides a comprehensive study of desert biomes, that includes maps, photographs, diagrams, and drawings that highlight habitats, species, and ecological relationships.
This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Biomes of the World series covers the lush, beautiful - and rapidly shrinking - tropical forest biomes. The volume covers the two major tropic forest biomes, tropical rainforests and tropical seasonal forests.
Colorful macaws fly gracefully between trees while monkeys howl or chatter from high branches overhead. Many plants and animals display vibrant colors, while others like the sloth hide in plain sight. The tropical rain forest biome is chock full of life, and there are still many questions to be answered about this mysterious region. This informative book invites you to learn about the inner workings of this unique biome where every living thing plays a part in this biome community. Come see how the web of life thrives in the tropical rainforest biome.
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.
This is a comprehensive, attractive, and readable introduction to tropical rain forest ecology, biogeography, and management. It tackles the subject at local, regional, and global scales, and is both up-to-date and fully integrated across disciplines.