Mangrove Ecosystems: A Global Biogeographic Perspective
Mangrove Ecosystems: A Global Biogeographic Perspective

Author: Victor H. Rivera-Monroy

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-11-03

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 3319622064

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book presents a comprehensive overview and analysis of mangrove ecological processes, structure, and function at the local, biogeographic, and global scales and how these properties interact to provide key ecosystem services to society. The analysis is based on an international collaborative effort that focuses on regions and countries holding the largest mangrove resources and encompasses the major biogeographic and socio-economic settings of mangrove distribution. Given the economic and ecological importance of mangrove wetlands at the global scale, the chapters aim to integrate ecological and socio-economic perspectives on mangrove function and management using a system-level hierarchical analysis framework. The book explores the nexus between mangrove ecology and the capacity for ecosystem services, with an emphasis on thresholds, multiple stressors, and local conditions that determine this capacity. The interdisciplinary approach and illustrative study cases included in the book will provide valuable resources in data, information, and knowledge about the current status of one of the most productive coastal ecosystem in the world.

Dividing the Waters
Dividing the Waters

Author: William Andrew Blomquist

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Not only are these water supplies not depleted, they are in fact relatively healthy despite California's recent six-year drought.

Climate Intervention
Climate Intervention

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-06-23

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0309314852

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The growing problem of changing environmental conditions caused by climate destabilization is well recognized as one of the defining issues of our time. The root problem is greenhouse gas emissions, and the fundamental solution is curbing those emissions. Climate geoengineering has often been considered to be a "last-ditch" response to climate change, to be used only if climate change damage should produce extreme hardship. Although the likelihood of eventually needing to resort to these efforts grows with every year of inaction on emissions control, there is a lack of information on these ways of potentially intervening in the climate system. As one of a two-book report, this volume of Climate Intervention discusses albedo modification - changing the fraction of incoming solar radiation that reaches the surface. This approach would deliberately modify the energy budget of Earth to produce a cooling designed to compensate for some of the effects of warming associated with greenhouse gas increases. The prospect of large-scale albedo modification raises political and governance issues at national and global levels, as well as ethical concerns. Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth discusses some of the social, political, and legal issues surrounding these proposed techniques. It is far easier to modify Earth's albedo than to determine whether it should be done or what the consequences might be of such an action. One serious concern is that such an action could be unilaterally undertaken by a small nation or smaller entity for its own benefit without international sanction and regardless of international consequences. Transparency in discussing this subject is critical. In the spirit of that transparency, Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth was based on peer-reviewed literature and the judgments of the authoring committee; no new research was done as part of this study and all data and information used are from entirely open sources. By helping to bring light to this topic area, this book will help leaders to be far more knowledgeable about the consequences of albedo modification approaches before they face a decision whether or not to use them.

Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security
Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security

Author: Irene Petrosillo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-10-02

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 1402065884

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines environmental security from the perspective of landscape sciences, identifying the forces that threaten environmental security at all levels. It stems from the last five years of the Pilot Study Project on Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment sponsored by the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society. Readers explore concepts of environmental security from subjective and objective perspectives.

Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research
Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2004-01-16

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0309090539

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The weather on planet Earth is a vital and sometimes fatal force in human affairs. Efforts to control or reduce the harmful impacts of weather go back far in time. In this, the latest National Academies' assessment of weather modification, the committee was asked to assess the ability of current and proposed weather modification capabilities to provide beneficial impacts on water resource management and weather hazard mitigation. It examines new technologies, reviews advances in numerical modeling on the cloud and mesoscale, and considers how improvements in computer capabilities might be applied to weather modification. Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research examines the status of the science underlying weather modification in the United States. It calls for a coordinated national research program to answer fundamental questions about basic atmospheric processes and to address other issues that are impeding progress in weather modification.

The Photoload Sampling Technique
The Photoload Sampling Technique

Author: Robert E. Keane

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Fire managers need better estimates of fuel loading so they can more accurately predict the potential fire behavior and effects of alternative fuel and ecosystem restoration treatments. This report presents a new fuel sampling method, called the photoload sampling technique, to quickly and accurately estimate loadings for six common surface fuel components (1 hr, 10 hr, 100 hr, and 1000 hr downed dead woody, shrub, and herbaceous fuels). This technique involves visually comparing fuel conditions in the field with photoload sequences to estimate fuel loadings. Photoload sequences are a series of downward-looking and close-up oblique photographs depicting a sequence of graduated fuel loadings of synthetic fuelbeds for each of the six fuel components. This report contains a set of photoload sequences that describe the range of fuel component loadings for common forest conditions in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, USA to estimate fuel loading in the field. A companion publication (RMRS-RP-61CD) details the methods used to create the photoload sequences and presents a comprehensive evaluation of the technique.

Botanical Leads for Drug Discovery
Botanical Leads for Drug Discovery

Author: Bikarma Singh

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-10-05

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 9811559171

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Active botanical ingredients are a prime requirement for herbal formulations and discovering a drug is all about integration of science disciplines. In recent decades there has been a growing interest in treating wounds and diseases using traditional remedies based on local herbs, combined with chemical advances. Although this has led to the development of new bioactive ingredients from plants, there has been little success in terms of clinical trials and post-marketing studies to comply with FDA guidelines. Plants have been used as a source of medicine throughout history and continue to serve as the basis for many pharmaceuticals used today. However, despite the modern pharmaceutical industry being founded on botanical medicine, synthetic approaches to drug discovery have now become standard. Science-driven translational discovery and botanical development has created a new reality, leading to enormous changes in strategies, technologies and the disciplines involved, which have been embraced by the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This book gathers scientific expertise and traditional knowledge to promote the discovery and development of new formulations and drugs based on active ingredients and to provide guidance on taking these to clinical trials. It discusses major topics, such as how the phytochemical composition of many plants has changed over time due to factors like cultivation, which can have both positive and negative effects on the levels of bioactive compounds. It also explores the importance of plants as a valuable source of therapeutic compounds as a result of their vast biosynthetic capacity, and classifies them according to their intended use, safety and regulatory status. Further, the book offers insights into the regulatory aspects of botanical products, which is an important issue when considering standardization and quality assessment, and also examines the commercial aspects of plant-derived medications and their proven role in the treatment of chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, pain, asthma, and other associated conditions. Given its scope, this book is a valuable tool for botanists, natural product chemists, pharmacologists and microbiologists involved in the study of phytochemicals for drug discovery.