Book Description
The availability or lack of nutrients shapes ecosystems in fundamental ways. From forest productivity to soil fertility, from the diversity of animals to the composition of microbial communities, nutrient cycling and limitation are the basic mechanisms underlying ecosystem ecology. In this book, Peter Vitousek builds on over twenty years of research in Hawai'i to evaluate the controls and consequences of variation in nutrient availability and limitation.
Integrating research from geochemistry, pedology, atmospheric chemistry, ecophysiology, and ecology, Vitousek addresses fundamental questions: How do the cycles of different elements interact? How do biological processes operating in minutes or hours interact with geochemical processes operating over millions of years? How does biological diversity interact with nutrient cycling and limitation in ecosystems? The Hawaiian Islands provide the author with an excellent model system for answering these questions as he integrates across levels of biological organization. He evaluates the connections between plant nutrient use efficiency, nutrient cycling and limitation within ecosystems, and nutrient input-output budgets of ecosystems.
This book makes use of the Hawaiian ecosystems to explore the mechanisms that shape productivity and diversity in ecosystems throughout the world. It will be essential reading for all ecologists and environmental scientists.
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- The first systematic treatment
- The first extensive compilation focused specifically upon patterns of plant biodiversity in the species-rich savannas
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Neotropical Savannas and Seasonally Dry Forests: Plant Diversity, Biogeography, and Conservation (Systematics Association Special Volume)
Manufacturer: CRC
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The Ecology of Neotropical Savannas
ASIN: 0849329876 |
Book Description
This volume is the first extensive compilation of the patterns of plant biodiversity in the species-rich savannas and seasonally dry forests of the neotropics. Focusing on the molecular phylogenies and population genetics for uncovering biogeographic history, it addresses three questions: Where are the centers of species-richness and endemism that make up the floras of these ecosystems? How and why did this endemism and diversity arise? Are these ecosystems adequately protected, and if not how can this be best achieved? It also looks at evolutionary history, including links to the development of analogous vegetation in Africa. According to the Midwest Book Review (August 2006) this work is "...a seminal and necessary addition to professional and academic library Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies reference collections."
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The first systematic treatment.......2006-08-12
This book is the result of a plant diversity symposium that composed part of a conference held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in September 2003. As with most scientific books of this type where the information is the result of research that was conducted very recently, there are numerous contributors, more than fifty. They come from most of the world: England, United States, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Switzerland, France, and many others.
Most of the book covers Latin and South America with discussions on the types of plants found in these environments. Only one chapter is devoted to Africa, the other large area where savannas and seasonally dry forests are to be found. And it primarily discusses the differences.
This is the first extensive compilation of the patterns of plant diversity in these neotropical ecosystems. It is a monumental work.
The first extensive compilation focused specifically upon patterns of plant biodiversity in the species-rich savannas .......2006-08-09
Collaboratively compiled, organized and edited by the team of R. Toby Pennington, James A Ratter (both of whom are with the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh) and Gwilym P. Lewis (from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), "Neotropical Savannas And Seasonally Dry Forests: Plant Diversity, Biogeography, And Conservations" is the latest addition to the prestigious 'Systematics Association Special Volumes' series (under the general editorial supervision of Alan Warren (Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, England) and the first extensive compilation focused specifically upon patterns of plant biodiversity in the species-rich savannas and seasonally dry forests of the neotropics. This scholarly and expert 484-page overview (contributed to by 59 contributors from around the world) succinctly summarizes what is currently known of the evolutionary history of these particular ecosystems, including links to the development of analogous vegetation in Africa. "Neotropical Savannas And Seasonally Dry Forests" focus on plant biodiversity and the molecular phylogenies and molecular population genetics for uncovering the biogeographic history of these ecosystems making it a seminal and necessary addition to professional and academic library Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies reference collections.
Book Description
Can physics be an appropriate framework for the understanding of ecological science? Most ecologists would probably agree that there is little relation between the complexity of natural ecosystems and the simplicity of any example derived from Newtonian physics. Though ecologists have long been interested in concepts originally developed by statistical physicists and later applied to explain everything from why stock markets crash to why rivers develop particular branching patterns, applying such concepts to ecosystems has remained a challenge.
Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems is the first book to clearly synthesize what we have learned about the usefulness of tools from statistical physics in ecology. Ricard Solé and Jordi Bascompte provide a comprehensive introduction to complex systems theory, and ask: do universal laws shape the structure of ecosystems, at least at some scales? They offer the most compelling array of theoretical evidence to date of the potential of nonlinear ecological interactions to generate nonrandom, self-organized patterns at all levels.
Tackling classic ecological questions--from population dynamics to biodiversity to macroevolution--the book's novel presentation of theories and data shows the power of statistical physics and complexity in ecology. Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems will be a staple resource for years to come for ecologists interested in complex systems theory as well as mathematicians and physicists interested in ecology.
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Very good.......2006-07-19
The book was sent very fast and I received it in excellent conditions
Book Description
What makes populations stabilize? What makes them fluctuate? Are populations in complex ecosystems more stable than populations in simple ecosystems? In 1973, Robert May addressed these questions in this classic book. May investigated the mathematical roots of population dynamics and argued-counter to most current biological thinking-that complex ecosystems in themselves do not lead to population stability. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems played a key role in introducing nonlinear mathematical models and the study of deterministic chaos into ecology, a role chronicled in James Gleick's book Chaos. In the quarter century since its first publication, the book's message has grown in power. Nonlinear models are now at the center of ecological thinking, and current threats to biodiversity have made questions about the role of ecosystem complexity more crucial than ever. In a new introduction, the author addresses some of the changes that have swept biology and the biological world since the book's first publication.
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Models in Ecosystem Science
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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Modeling Biological Systems:: Principles and Applications
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Individual-based Modeling and Ecology (Princeton Series in Theoretical and Computational Biology)
ASIN: 0691092885 |
Book Description
Quantitative models are crucial to almost every area of ecosystem science. They provide a logical structure that guides and informs empirical observations of ecosystem processes. They play a particularly crucial role in synthesizing and integrating our understanding of the immense diversity of ecosystem structure and function. Increasingly, models are being called on to predict the effects of human actions on natural ecosystems. Despite the widespread use of models, there exists intense debate within the field over a wide range of practical and philosophical issues pertaining to quantitative modeling. This book--which grew out of a gathering of leading experts at the ninth Cary Conference--explores those issues.
The book opens with an overview of the status and role of modeling in ecosystem science, including perspectives on the long-running debate over the appropriate level of complexity in models. This is followed by eight chapters that address the critical issue of evaluating ecosystem models, including methods of addressing uncertainty. Next come several case studies of the role of models in environmental policy and management. A section on the future of modeling in ecosystem science focuses on increasing the use of modeling in undergraduate education and the modeling skills of professionals within the field. The benefits and limitations of predictive (versus observational) models are also considered in detail. Written by stellar contributors, this book grants access to the state of the art and science of ecosystem modeling.
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Litter Decomposition: a Guide to Carbon and Nutrient Turnover, Volume 38
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 012373617X |
Book Description
Litter Decomposition describes one of the most important processes in the biosphere the decay of organic matter. It focuses on the decomposition process of foliar litter in the terrestrial systems of boreal and temperate forests due to the greater amount of data from those biomes. The availability of several long-term studies from these forest types allows a more in-depth approach to the later stages of decomposition and humus formation. Differences between the decay of woody matter and foliar litter is discussed in detail and a different pattern for decomposition is introduced.
While teachers and students in more general subjects will find the most basic information on decomposition processes in this book, scientists and graduate students working on decomposition processes will be entirely satisfied with the more detailed information and the overview of the latest publications on the topic as well as the methodological chapter where practical information on methods useful in decomposition studies can be found. Abundant data sets will serve as an excellent aid in teaching process and will be also of interest to researchers specializing in this field as no thorough database exists at the moment.
* Provides over 60 tables and 90 figures
* Offers a conceptual 3-step model describing the different steps of the decomposition process, demonstrating changes in the organic-chemical structure and nutrient contents
* Includes a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on foliar litter decomposition in natural systems
* Integrates more traditional knowledge on organic matter decomposition with current problems of environmental pollution, global change, etc.
* Details contemporary knowledge on organic matter decomposition
Book Description
In the classic Adaptive Management of Renewable Resources, first published in 1986 and here reprinted, Carl Walters challenges the traditional approach to dealing with uncertainty in the management of such renewable resources as fish and wildlife. He argued that scientific understanding will come from the experience of management as an ongoing, adaptive and experimental process, rather than through basic research or the development of ecological theory. In the opening chapters, Walters reviews approaches to formulating management objectives as well as models for understanding how policy choices affect the attainment of these objectives. In subsequent chapters, he presents various statistical methods for understanding the dynamics of uncertainty in managed fish and wildlife populations and for seeking optimum harvest policies in the face of uncertainty. Walters concludes with a look at the prospects for adaptive management of complex systems, emphasizing such human factors involved in decision making as risk aversion and conflicting objectives as well as biophysical factors. Throughout the text, he uses dynamic models and Bayesian statistical theory as tolls for understanding the behavior of managed systems and he illustrates these tools with simple graphs and plots of data from representative cases. This text/reference will serve researchers, graduate students and resource managers who formulate harvest policies and study the dynamics of harvest populations as well as analysts (modelers, statisticians and stock management experts) who are concerned with the practice of policy design. Dr. Carl Walters is currently Professor of Zoology and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Walters is a specialist in fisheries stock assessment, adaptive management, and ecosystem modeling. He uses mathematical modeling and computer simulation techniques to better understand the dynamics of exploited marine ecosystems and to find more effective methods to manage them in the face of natural variability and high uncertainty. He advocates cooperative arrangements between governments and fishing industries to provide improved information for stock assessment and management via methods such as industry-based surveys. His main research work is on the theory of harvesting in natural resource management, with a primary interest in the basic problem of how to behave adaptively in the face of extreme uncertainty. He is one of the main developers of the ecosystem simulation program known as Ecosim, which is being used to test ideas about organization of trophic interactions in marine systems, and the implications of these interactions for sustainable harvesting theory. He has written over 150 articles and two books and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Book Description
Modelling of marine ecosystems is a rapidly developing branch of interdisciplinary oceanographic research. Introduction to the Modelling of Marine Ecosystems is the first consistent and comprehensive introduction to the development of models of marine ecosystems. It begins with simple first steps of modelling and develops more and more complex models. This step-by-step approach to increasing the complexity of the models is intended to allow students of biological oceanography and interested scientists with only limited experience in mathematical modelling to explore the theoretical framework and familiarize oneself with the methods. The book describes how biological model components can be integrated into three dimensional circulation models and how such models can be used for 'numerical experiments'.
The book illustrates the mathematical aspects of modelling and gives application examples. The tutorial aspect of the book is supported by a set of MATLAB programs, which are provided on an accompanying CD-Rom and which can be used to reproduce many of the results presented in the book.
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Theoretical Ecosystem Ecology: Understanding Element Cycles
Goran I. Agren , and
Ernesto Bosatta
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0521646510 |
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The cycling of elements such as carbon and nitrogen is of central importance in ecology, particularly when humans are causing changes to nutrient cycles on a global scale. This book develops a rigorous mathematical framework to illustrate how nutrient cycles operate and interact in plants and soils, forming the foundations of a new ecosystem theory. Powerful predictions can be generated covering a wide range of ecological phenomena related to nutrient cycling from a few basic equations. These predictions are tested extensively against field and laboratory studies of agricultural and forest ecosystems.
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The Analytic Hierarchy Process in Natural Resource and Environmental Decision Making (Managing Forest Ecosystems, Volume 3) (Managing Forest Ecosystems)
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0792370767 |
Book Description
Decision making in land management involves preferential selection among competing alternatives. Often, such choices are difficult owing to the complexity of the decision context. Because the analytic hierarchy process (AHP, developed by Thomas Saaty in the 1970s) has been successfully applied to many complex planning, resource allocation, and priority setting problems in business, energy, health, marketing, natural resources, and transportation, more applications of the AHP in natural resources and environmental sciences are appearing regularly. This realization has prompted the authors to collect some of the important works in this area and present them as a single volume for managers and scholars. Because land management contains a somewhat unique set of features not found in other AHP application areas, such as site-specific decisions, group participation and collaboration, and incomplete scientific knowledge, this text fills a void in the literature on management science and decision analysis for forest resources.
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