Ecological science, the Biosphere Books

In the spring of 1969 a small meeting was convened at the CSIRO Riverina Laboratory, Deniliquin, New South Wales, to discuss the biology of the genus Atriplex, a group of plants considered by those who attended to be of...

This book records contributions presented at the Third Session of the EIFAC (European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and OlE (Office International des...

The acid metabolism of certain succulent plants, now known as Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) has fascinated plant physiologists and biochemists for the last one and a half centuries. However, since the basic discoveries of...

The International Biological Programme (IBP) was a cooperative effort on the part of scientists throughout the world, whose goal was an integrated study of the basic processes of biological productivity. The challenge of...

When we wrote this book it was, admittedly, flrst of all for the sake of our own enjoyment and enlightenment. We will, however, add our sincerely meant (but rather traditional) hope that it will prove interesting to graduate...

Animals are important components of any ecosystem and it is impossible to describe structure and funCtioning of the Fennoscandian tundra ecosystems without including this part of the system. However, the strong diversity...

Plans for an International Symposium on the Early Life History of Fish were first discussed in 1967 at the F. A. O. Advisory Committee on Marine Resources Research {A. C. M. R. R. }. It was considered that studies on fish eggs...

No other disjunct pieces of land present such striking similarities as the widely sepa­ 1 rated regions with a mediterranean type of climate, that is, the territories fringing the Mediterranean Sea, California, Central Chile...

In the first volume of this series (edited by D. E. REICHLE) an international panel of experts treated various aspects of ecosystems research, using deciduous forests of the temperate zone as an example. That collection of...

Hazard assessment of a compound (xenobiotic) discharged to the aquatic environment requires data on both exposure and effects to various components of the ecosystem. The multitude of ecological gradients in the Baltic Sea is...

This book presents the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop which was also financially supported by the National Research Council of Italy. The Workshop was held from October 9 to 15, 1994, at the Centro Ettore...

Globally, forest vegetation and soils are both major stores of terrestrial organic carbon, and major contributors to the annual cycling of carbon between the atmosphere and the biosphere. Forests are also a renewable resource,...

The exigencies of life in the desert environment have resulted in the se­ lection of a diversity of adaptations, both morphological and physiologi­ cal, in the flora and fauna. At the same time, many plants and most small...

Based on three decades of field experience in southwest Asia, southern Africa, and the southwest United States, the author summarizes the major adaptations of plants to desert dunes. This integrative study of plant and diaspore...

The Aral Sea Basin, which is located in the central Asian part of the former Soviet Union, is undergoing dramatically rapid and intense environmental change. Pervasive human misuse and overuse of its water, land, and other...

This volume contains reviews on five different aspects of bioclimatology: (1) The establishment, maintenance and use of data from automatic weather station networks for agricultural purposes; (2) Techniques for estimating...

In terrestrial ecosystems, soil microorganisms and soil animals are essential for litter degradation, soil formation and the availability of nutrients and trace elements. The measurement of biological soil parameters allows a...

Desert invertebrates live in an environment where resources alternate unpredictably between brief periods of plenty and prolonged scarcity. This book describes the adaptive strategies of desert invertebrates in acquiring energy...

In the past years, much work has been carried out on either life-history evolu­ tion or structure and function of food webs. However, most studies dealt with only one of these areas and often touched upon the other only...

Research on decomposer communities of terrestrial ecosystems for a long time has focussed on microbial biomass and gross turnover parameters. Recently, more and more attempts are made to look beyond the biomass, and more...

Part A and Part B of the fifth of twelve volumes of The Mycota deal with the mechanisms of interactions between fungi and plants and consider pathogenic as well as mutualistic associations. Nobody involved in the manipulation...

Numerous experts including ecologists, geneticists, paleontologists and climatologists, investigate the response of terrestrial organisms to changes in their environment. The volume comprises an introductory and a final chapter...

Subtropical convergence regions in the southwestern Atlantic have a high biological productivity, and are important as nursery and feeding areas and as reproduction grounds for fishery stocks of subtropical and antarctic origin...

Deserts, whether hot or cold, are considered to be one of the most difficult environments for living systems, lacking the essential free water which ac­ counts for approximately 60-70% of their body mass and more than 98% of...

Unlike mammals, birds are not particularly well suited to desert life. Among the few types of birds that have successfully adapted to the desert ecosystem are the predators. With individual chapters devoted to each of the...

Nowadays, major environmental issues are the object of large public debates de­ spite the fact that scientific knowledge is often insufficient to draw unequivocal conclusions. Such is the case in the ongoing debate regarding...

Providing a link between theoretical and applied aspects of plant nutrition and agriculture, this book introduces new concepts in plant nutrition. It shows how these can be applied in order to assess the nitrogen status in...

A description of the structural and functional adaptations of the key organs such as skin, kidneys, bladder, lungs and ovaries, with special emphasis placed on physiological adaptations: water, electrolyte, nitrogen, and...

During the last few decades anthropogenic activities in the industrially advanced countries have outcompeted nature in changing the global environment. This is best illustrated for example by the polluted lakes in Scandinavia...

An introduction to the evolution and adaptation of amphibians and reptiles, bridging the gulf between the plethora of 'popular' books and the more advanced texts directed towards the needs of specialist research workers, thus...

Following a description of the physical and biological characterization of the four North American deserts together with the primary adaptations of plants to environmental stress, the authors go on to present case studies of...

The Antarctic represents the last of the world's still unexplored continents. Since 1985, Italy has sent 10 expeditions to this region, three of those have been exclusively devoted to research on the marine ecology of the Ross...

Ten years ago Polar Biology published the book, Weddell Sea Ecology, containing the European "Polarstern" study EPOS in the Weddell Sea and Peninsula waters 1988/89. In certain respects, the present collection of papers, first...

Biomass burning profoundly affects atmospheric chemistry, the carbon cycle, and climate and may have done so for millions of years. Bringing together renowned experts from paleoecology, fire ecology, atmospheric chemistry, and...

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) - the conversion of molecular nitrogen into ammonia - is one of the most important reactions in ecology and agriculture. It is performed exclusively by microbes (prokaryotes) that live in...

Broadleaved evergreen forests where holm oak (Quercus ilex 1.) is almost the only canopy tree are a distinctive ecosystem of the Mediterranean Basin. Biogeographically, these forests lie between cool-temperate deciduous forests...

This book compiles for the first time the development of echinoderm research in Latin America. The book contains 17 chapters, one introductory, 15 country chapters, and a final biogeographic analysis. It compiles all the investigations published in...

The diversity, ecological role and biotechnological applications of marine fungi have been addressed in numerous scientific publications in the last few years. This enormous spurt of information has led to a dire need among students and professionals...

This volume offers insight in the identification and selection procedure of marine protected areas in the German exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the North - and Baltic Seas. EU Member States are obliged to establish a coherent network of protected...

Meiobenthology is the science of the tiny animals that live in huge numbers in all aquatic sediments. This fully revised and enlarged second edition emphasizes new discoveries and developments in this field. Major progress has been made in three general...

The fossil record contains unique long-term insights into how ecosystems form and function which cannot be determined simply by examining modern systems. It also provides a record of endangered species through time, which allow us to make conservation...

Biodiversity and its conservation are among the main global topics in science and politics and perhaps the major challenge for the present and coming generations. This book written by international experts from different disciplines comprises general...