Ecological science, the Biosphere Books

Mangroves are basically salt tolerant forest ecosystems found mainly in tropical and sub-tropical inter-tidal regions. Till about 1960s, mangroves were largely viewed as "economically unproductive areas" and were therefore destroyed for reclaiming land...

Tesis del año 2012 en eltema Biología - Ecología, Nota: Postulación meritoria, Universidad de Caldas, Idioma: Español, Resumen: En Colombia los estudios sobre la amenaza que supone para las aeronaves, la presencia de aves en los aeropuertos, son escasos...

The vast majority of the world's lakes are small in size and short lived in geological terms. Only 253 of the thousands of lakes on this planet have surface areas larger than 500 square kilometers. At first sight, this...

This book is not a conventional review of diving physiology. The coverage of the literature has been selective rather than en­ compassing, the emphasis has been on field studies rather than laboratory investigations, and the...

In addition to the more or less static properties of the environ­ ment, plants and animals must cope with its temporal variations. Among the most conspicuous temporal changes to which organisms are exposed are periodic...

For old and new studies in decision making and risk analysis, this book should stand at tlle watershed. Studies of conflict resolution and public policy will surely now have to take account of the model investigation provided...

Chance Favors Only the Prepared Mind How does a scientist go about the task of pushing back the curtains of the unknown? Certainly the romance of tackling the mysteries of nature provides the motivation, for who would not be...

The first summer study at IIASA brought together a cross-section of individ­ uals from different disciplines and nationalities. All the participants have had an interest in the role of risk analysis given the institutional...

With the increasing numbers of research workers and groups of investigators devoting themselves to the ecology of carabids I felt that the time had come to take stock of the existing knowledge in this field and to endeavour to...

This book has been written mostly within sight of wild African ungulates, at the research center in Tsavo East National Park, V oi, Kenya. While this had many positive aspects, there were also a few drawbacks. The main one of...

The period since World War II, and especially the last decade influenced by the International Biological Program, has seen enormous growth in research on the function of ecosystems. The same period has seen an exponential' rise...

Anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has been recognized as the primary agent in global climate change. The volume discusses the possibilities for limiting that increase by the long-term storage of carbon...

G.P. Stamou describes the adaptive strategies that allow arthropods to cope with the severity of Mediterranean environments. After an introduction to the structure and function of Mediterranean-type ecosystems, ecophysiological...

Azospirillum is a plant growth promoting rhizobacterium used for inoculation of cereal and forage crops. The book covers its physiology, ecology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. The most advanced molecular techniques to...

Forest decline became a matter of public and scientific concern in France in 1983 when conifers in the Vosges mountains were found to exhibit unusual crown deterioration. An impassioned controversy on a supposedly large scale...

Ecosystem health offers a fresh perspective on the management of natural resources and the environment. While some of the root concepts can surely be traced back to Aldo Leopold and even earlier, it is only in the recent decade...

Fifty million years ago, the Arctic Ocean was a warm sea, bounded by lush vegetation of the warm-temperate shores of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska and the Northwest Territories. Wind and storms were rare because Atlantic weather...

After a brief survey of biotopic and vegetational features and an account of the main groups of desert animals, the most unusual patterns of the behaviour of the xerophilous fauna are examined. The importance of the ...

Soils will play a central role in mediating the impact of climate change on natural and managed ecosystems. The book addresses the various responses of soil processes and properties to environmental change and highlights their...

This book provides a quantitative analysis of the role of woody plants in semi-arid regions, for the aSSessment of their benefits in agrosylvopastoralland-use systems with productive and sus­ tainability objectives. The...

Environmental stresses, such as high and low temperature, salinity, and drought, represent limiting factors to agricultural productivity worldwide. Their impact is not only on crops that are presently being cultivated, but they...

Hydroponics, the method of growing plants without soil, presents a feasible alternative to conventional farming in areas which are short on water supply and limited in agricultural soil.This book will serve as an indispensable...

Presented here are recent data on the mechanisms of action of different dusts and fibres of industrial interest. Emphasis is placed on the use of cell and organ culture and lavage cell populations obtained from man and...

A comparison of the adaptations made by invertebrates in polar deserts with those of temperate and subtropical deserts. These regions represent some of the most hostile environments on earth, demanding an array of strategies...

Savannas are the most widespread ecosystem in the tropics and as such are subjected to great human pressure that may result in massive soil degradation. The book addresses the role of species in the function of savanna...

As human populations expand and have increasing access to technol­ ogy, two general environmental concerns have arisen. First, human pop­ ulations are having increasing impact on the earth system, such that we are altering the...

Books dealing with climatic change are commonplace, as are those concerned with effects of environmental stresses on plants. The present volume distinguishes itself from earlier publications by highlighting several interrelated...

Ecology is characterized by a rapidly growing complexity and diversity of facts, aspects, examples, and observations. What is badly needed is the development of common patterns, of rules that, as in other sciences such as...

The Arctic troposphere (0 to ca. 8 km) plays an important role in environmental concerns for global change. It is a unique chemical reactor influenced by human activity and the Arctic ocean. It is surrounded by industrialized...

The aim of this Handbook is to cover all fields that are necessary for the management of tropical forest resources. It provides proven and/or promis ing concepts, methods and available comparative data. The exten­ sive...

A year has passed since Eshel Bresler, my good friend and colleague, and a member of the editorial board of the Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences, died suddenly while on a visit to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in...

Die Messung biologischer Parameter von Böden erlaubt eine rasche Beurteilung der Auswirkung chemischer und physikalischer Einflüsse auf den Boden. Dieses Buch stellt eine Vielzahl von enzymatischen Methoden vor, die zur...

The connections between economics, planning, and the environment are receiv­ ing increased attention among scholars and policy makers in many countries. The common denominator among these three variables is the earth's life...

Continuous cultures, i.e. chemostats with an continuous dilution rate, are model ecosystems for the study of general regulation principles in plankton communities. Further to an introduction, general continuous culture methods...

Plant nutrients are found in a relatively thin layer of soil materials that covers all of the continents of the entire world. These plant nutrients provide the necessary food, clothing, and shelter for human existence. As the...

Provided here is an up-to-date survey of gene transfers in the main natural habitats, with a special reference to genetically engineered microorganisms.In the first of five sections technical approaches of gene transfer in ...

Preservation of nature and the environment has become one of the most important issues of the end of the twentieth century. It has become evident that the methods used for industrial and agricultural production in many...

Aquatic hyphomycetes were discovered 50 years ago by C.T. Ingold. They remained a relatively obscure group until their role as intermediaries between deciduous leaves and stream invertebrates was established some 20 ...

Palms are tropical miracles. Heinrich Heine, the German poet, stated "Unter den Palmen wandert man nicht ungestraft", i.e., one does not wander unpunished under the palms. It was Professor H.C.D. de Wit who taught me this in...

El Niño is a meteorological and oceanographic phenomenon, which occurs at irregular intervals in the eastern tropical Pacific. Its most obvious characteristic is the warming of surface waters, which causes enormous disturbances...

Biology of Antarctic Fish presents the most recent findings on the biology of fish in the unique environment of the Antarctic ocean. At present the year-round temperature of the coastal waters is very near -1,87 ° C, the...

In their very first lecture biochemists learn that biomolecules, namely nucleic acids, proteins and lipids, are extremely temperature sensitive and will denature and lose their function easily. Then how do Archaebacteria...