Proceedings of a conf. on the major problems facing grasslands in arid & semi-arid regions of the U.S. & Mexico & to seek solutions to those problems. Grasslands in many parts of the Southwest & northern Mexico are facing serious threats -- from urbanization & subdivision development to spread of invasive plant species to conflicts over grazing policy. Target groups for participation included private landowners, non-profit groups, government agencies, environmental advocates, economists, scientists, etc. Emphasized practical, hands-on mgmt. methods, including time in grasslands managed under a variety of techniques.
The original "The Future of Arid Lands", was edited by Gilbert White and was published in 1956, comprised papers delivered at the "International Arid Lands Meetings" held in New Mexico in 1955. At these meetings, sponsored by UNESCO and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, experts considered the major issues then confronting the world's arid lands and developed a research agenda to address these issues. "The Future of Arid Lands - Revisited", was commissioned by UNESCO in 2005, and re-examines this earlier work. Written by researchers from the University of Arizona, this volume first looks at the state of science in 1956 and attendant contemporary views of arid lands development. It then considers how scientific understanding of the processes governing arid lands has since evolved, before extracting lessons from these comparisons that might guide current and future arid land managers and speculating on what the future might hold for arid lands.
This publication reviews both published and unpublished sources on Puebloan, Hispanic, and AngloAmerican irrigation systems in the Rio Grande Valley. Settlement patterns and Spanish and Mexican land grants in the valley are also discussed. The volume includes an annotated bibliography.
"This book brings together nearly every aspect of grassland research in the American Southwest and is written to appeal to both academics and the general public. It refutes conventional myths about some causes of grassland change, tests hypotheses in restoration ecology, and offers new perspectives on the recovery of ecosystems free from livestock grazing. It is a book that every naturalist or ecologist should read."—Conrad Bahre, author of A Legacy of Change "I expected another nature book. What I found was, to my surprise, a love story. Carl and Jane Bock visited the Research Ranch in the early 1970s and fell in love--with the Sonoita Plains, the plants and animals there, and the people who called it home. Like all good love stories, this one is full of passion and joy, excitement and disappointment, and sadness and humor. . . . With their successful blend of storytelling and scientific reporting, the Bocks share the most intimate details of their love affair and make the reader curious to learn more about this little-known land."—H. Ronald Pulliam, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia "Jane and Carl Bock write precisely as well as lovingly of the dynamics of the distinctive grasslands near the U.S./Mexico border in Arizona. They also bring 25 years of first-rate science to bear on their topic. Their seasoned view of ecological and perceptual changes in this community are unique and will go a long way toward healing and restoring the remaining fragments of this biome in southeastern Arizona."—Gary Paul Nabhan, author of Cultures of Habitat
'Organizations and the Sustainability Mosaic is an inspired collection of papers by a distinguished group of scholars who have been thinking about these issues for many years. The editors have done an outstanding job of framing and focusing the discussion on a group of issues that will matter most as all businesses engage their sustainability challenges. Your thinking will be challenged, and rewarded, by the chapters of this book.' - James E. Post, Boston University, US The contributors to this book present research on crafting long-term ecological and societal solutions in order to achieve sustainability. The in-depth analyses explore the interactions among social, environmental, and development impacts of organizations at community, regional, national and global levels. In doing so they shed light on the way forward amidst the complexity of issues involved, referred to here as the sustainability mosaic.
