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Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics: A Manual of Technology & Management

The book is a comprehensive manual of practice for execution of afforestation and tree planting programmes in arid and semi-arid tropics. It includes a compact running account of the technology of afforestation and the relevant principles and practices in management of afforestation projects. It provides a wide range of structured information and a number of model designs which can be gainfully put to use by the field level supervisors as also by the managers concerned with planning and control of such projects. Written by a practising specialist, the book is invaluable for anyone concerned with the practice of afforestation and tree planting, be he a tree hobbyist or a school teacher, a professional forester or a senior policy maker in government, an industrialist or a philanthropist, an environmental activist or a member of a community service organization.

Sustainable Food Production Includes Human and Environmental Health

Agroecology not only encompasses aspects of ecology, but the ecology of sustainable food production systems, and related societal and cultural values. To provide effective communication regarding status and advances in this field, connections must be established with many disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, environmental sciences, ethics, agriculture, economics, ecology, rural development, sustainability, policy and education, or integrations of these general themes so as to provide integrated points of view that will help lead to a sustainable construction of values. Such designs are inherently complex and dynamic, and go beyond the individual farm to include landscapes, communities, and biogeographic regions by emphasizing their unique agricultural and ecological values, and their biological, societal, and cultural components and processes.

Agriculture and Public Goods: The Role of Collective Action

The debate on the future orientation of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is increasingly shaped by the role of agriculture in providing public goods, and there is a broad consensus that this approach will be particularly relevant in legitimating the policy intervention in agriculture in the future. In the context of this debate, it is not clear to what extent collective action could be taken into consideration as a valuable alternative to market or state regulation in contributing to the provision of public goods, and to what extent it is possible to design and implement agricultural policies that incorporate a collective and collaborative approach between different stakeholders in rural areas. Through an in depth analysis two case studies in Italy, the book provides insights to both the policy and the theoretical debate on the role of collective action for the public goods associated to agriculture. ​

Linking Ecology and Ethics for a Changing World

To comprehensively address the complexities of current socio-ecological problems involved in global environmental change, it is indispiseble to achieve an integration of ecological understanding and ethical values. Contemporary science proposes an inclusive ecosystem concept that recognizes humans as components. Contemporary environmental ethics includes eco-social justice and the realization that as important as biodiversity is cultural diversity, inter-cultural, inter-institutional, and international collaboration requiring a novel approach known as biocultural conservation. Right action in confronting the challenges of the 21st century requires science and ethics to be seamlessly integrated. This book resulted from the 14th Cary Conference that brought together leading scholars and practitioners in ecology and environmental philosophy to discuss core terminologies, methods, questions, and practical frameworks for long-term socio-ecological research, education, and decision making.

Climate Change and United States Forests (Advances in Global Change Research #57)

This volume offers a scientific assessment of the effects of climatic variability and change on forest resources in the United States. Derived from a report that provides technical input to the 2013 U. S. Global Change Research Program National Climate Assessment, the book serves as a framework for managing U. S. forest resources in the context of climate change. The authors focus on topics having the greatest potential to alter the structure and function of forest ecosystems, and therefore ecosystem services, by the end of the 21st century. Part I provides an environmental context for assessing the effects of climate change on forest resources, summarizing changes in environmental stressors, followed by state-of-science projections for future climatic conditions relevant to forest ecosystems. Part II offers a wide-ranging assessment of vulnerability of forest ecosystems and ecosystem services to climate change. The authors anticipate that altered disturbance regimes and stressors will have the biggest effects on forest ecosystems, causing long-term changes in forest conditions. Part III outlines responses to climate change, summarizing current status and trends in forest carbon, effects of carbon management, and carbon mitigation strategies. Adaptation strategies and a proposed framework for risk assessment, including case studies, provide a structured approach for projecting and responding to future changes in resource conditions and ecosystem services. Part IV describes how sustainable forest management, which guides activities on most public and private lands in the United States, can provide an overarching structure for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Soil Degradation, Conservation and Remediation

In view of the grave consequences of soil degradation on ecosystem functions, food security, biodiversity and human health, this book covers the extent, causes, processes and impacts of global soil degradation, and processes for improvement of degraded soils. Soil conservation measures, including soil amendments, decompaction, mulching, cover cropping, crop rotation, green manuring, contour farming, strip cropping, alley cropping, surface roughening, windbreaks, terracing, sloping agricultural land technology (SALT), dune stabilization, etc. , are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to soil pollution and the methods of physical, chemical and biological remediation of polluted soils. This book will lead the reader from the basics to a comprehensive understanding of soil degradation, conservation and remediation.

The Large Dam Dilemma

Large dam construction has significant environmental and social impacts at different scales. As the largest developing country in the world, China has built about half of the world's large dams, and more are expected to be built over the next two decades to meet the country's rapidly growing demand for energy. This book summarizes and updates information about the history, distribution, functions, and impacts of large dams, both globally and at China's national level. It then addresses the environmental and social-economic impacts of large dams in China with particular emphasis on the impacts of large dams on relocated people and associated compensation policies. Lastly, it introduces an integrated ecological and socio-economic study conducted in areas affected by dams along the Upper Mekong River, China. This book has the following three goals. The first goal is to summarize and update information on large dams globally and at China's national level (Ch. 2). We examine large dam problems from different perspectives, ranging from their spatial and temporal distributions and their environmental and social impacts, to discussions and debates centered on them. We also incorporate the results of an empirical investigation of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of large dams on the Upper Mekong River, China, and draw conclusions out of the analysis (Chs. 3 & 4). Our second goal is to provide an analysis framework to help understand the environmental and social-economic impacts of dam construction and the resulting environmental degradations and social inequities at different scales (Chs. 3 & 4), as well as to offer recommendations for mitigating these impacts within China's socio-political context (Ch. 5). The significant environmental effects resulting from dam construction include damage to ecological integrity and loss of biological diversity. The most significant social consequences brought by dam projects are their negative impacts on relocated people. Our analysis framework provides approaches to help comprehensively understand these impacts. Our third goal is to provide clues and suggestions for further studies of large dam problems both globally and in China (Ch. 5). The construction of large dams is proceeding rapidly in different parts of the world despite the heated debates on whether they should be built at all. The decision-making process related to building large dams involves considerations of economic viability, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Therefore, interdisciplinary collaborations are required in large dam research and development projects in order to reconcile the interests of different stakeholders and avoid harming ecosystems, biodiversity, and human welfare. Overall, we hope our book facilitates future examinations of large dams by providing summaries of existing data and research related to large dams, and offering a framework for better understanding and analyzing their environmental and social impacts.

Water Resources Management Sustaining Socio-Economic Welfare

The aim of this book is to offer a river-basin management plan which is directly implementable and consistent with the European Union -Water Framework Directive (EU WFD). The contributors, who are leading world experts in their respective fields, develop an integrated water resources management plan for the Asopos river basin in Greece which is economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable. The program offers explicit technical and investment solutions, socioeconomic and legal instruments and recommendations for institutional restructuring. The introductory chapter describes the water situation in Greece and assesses the potential of timely implementation of the EU WFD. Special emphasis is given to the cost-recovery principle. Chapter 2 introduces the case study area highlighting the particular pressures and impacts as well as the environmental functions and values of Asopos River and Oropos Lagoon. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on the economic characterisation of Asopos River Basin in order to identify the economic sectors and social groups that will bear the cost and benefits of the implementation of the EU WFD. In particular, Chapter 3 presents the main water uses and pricing for water supply in the industrial and the agricultural sectors. Chapter 4 completes the baseline appraisal, presenting the details of water use by the residential and touristic sectors. The following chapters assess valuation and decision-making tools from a range of perspectives, including agricultural needs, valuing the impacts of industrial activity, the costs and benefits of environmental preservation and management. The water resources management plan is presented in Chapter 9; the concluding chapter offers recommendations on institutional changes and presents the lessons learned as resources applicable to other river basins in Greece and elsewhere. The book applies state-of-the art market and non-market valuation methods to estimate water demands in the residential, industrial, agricultural, tourism, environmental and health sectors and to balance these, over time and space, with water supply. Given the well-known challenge of managing natural resources in a way that maximizes and sustains social welfare, this book will provide an invaluable point of reference for applied researchers and policy makers working in water resources management.

Gondwana Landscapes in southern South America

This book presents extensive and new information on the geomorphology of cratonic areas of southern South America. It includes valuable data relating to recurrent controversies in general geomorphology beyond the boundaries of South America and reveals the great need to integrate many different aspects of geomorphology in regional studies. With the focus on ancient landscapes and especially on planation surfaces it addresses the question of what processes could form such huge features, and how they can be preserved for so long. Many of the papers include maps of planation surfaces or other geomorphic units. The volume brings together an up-to-date, state-of-the-art collection of information on South American geomorphology, and shows beyond doubt that geomorphology is on the same time scale as global tectonics, biological evolution and major climate change. Some of the papers describe ancient geomorphological features of areas that have never been studied or published before, while others describe regions which are totally unknown to the public. The scope of the book extends from tropical latitudes north of the Tropic of Capricorn, south to freezing Patagonia in the "roaring fifties", more than 3,500 km from north to south. Including over one thousand citations from geological and geomorphological literature, this volume will serve as a starting point for a whole new phase of studies of the fascinating landscape history of southern South America.

Urban Environment

Over half of the global population now lives in cities. This ongoing urbanisation is making it increasingly important to adequately manage urban systems and preserve urban environments. This book is the outcome of the 11th Urban Environment Symposium (UES) held on 16-19 September 2012 in Karlsruhe, Germany. The UES aims at providing a forum on the sciences and practices needed to promote a sustainable future in urban environments. Papers by leading experts are presented in sections on Urban Management and Spatial Planning, Green Cities and Urban Ecosystems, Urban Planning and Development, Air Quality and Noise, Urban Climate Change and Adaptation, and Contamination of Urban Waters and its Effects.

Late Cenozoic Climate Change in Asia

This book is the first of its kind on environmental change research devoted to monsoon-arid environment evolution history and its mechanism involved. Capturing the most prominent features of Asian climate and environmental changes, it gives a comprehensive review of the Asian Monsoon records providing evidence for spatial and temporal climatic and environmental changes across the Asian continent since the Late Cenozoic. The dynamics underlying these changes are explored based on various bio-geological records and in particular based on the evidence of loess, speleothems as well as on mammal fossils. The Asian monsoon-arid climate system which quantifies the controlling mechanisms of climate change and the way it operates in different time scales is described. Attempts to differentiate between natural change and human-induced effects, which will help guide policies and countermeasures designed to support sustainable development on the Chinese Loess Plateau and the arid west.

Managing Protected Areas in Central and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change

Beginning with an overview of data and concepts developed in the EU-project HABIT-CHANGE, this book addresses the need for sharing knowledge and experience in the field of biodiversity conservation and climate change. There is an urgent need to build capacity in protected areas to monitor, assess, manage and report the effects of climate change and their interaction with other pressures. The contributors identify barriers to the adaptation of conservation management, such as the mismatch between planning reality and the decision context at site level. Short and vivid descriptions of case studies, drawn from investigation areas all over Central and Eastern Europe, illustrate both the local impacts of climate change and their consequences for future management. These focus on ecosystems most vulnerable to changes in climatic conditions, including alpine areas, wetlands, forests, lowland grasslands and coastal areas. The case studies demonstrate the application of adaptation strategies in protected areas like National Parks, Biosphere Reserves and Natural Parks, and reflect the potential benefits as well as existing obstacles. A general section provides the necessary background information on climate trends and their effects on abiotic and biotic components. Often, the parties to policy change and conservation management, including managers, land users and stakeholders, lack both expertise and incentives to undertake adaptation activities. The authors recognise that achieving the needed changes in behavior - habit - is as much a social learning process as a matter of science-based procedure. They describe the implementation of modeling, impact assessment and monitoring of climate conditions, and show how the results can support efforts to increase stakeholder involvement in local adaptation strategies. The book concludes by pointing out the need for more work to communicate the cross-sectoral nature of biodiversity protection, the value of well-informed planning in the long-term process of adaptation, the definition of acceptable change, and the motivational value of exchanging experience and examples of good practice.

Cultivating Biodiversity to Transform Agriculture

How can cultivated plant biodiversity contribute to the transformation and the "ecologization" of agriculture in Southern countries? Based on extensive field work in the Southern countries, a great deal of scientific progress is presented in all areas affecting agriculture (agronomy, plant breeding and crop protection, cultivation systems, etc. ) in order to intensify the ecological processes in cultivated plots and at the scale of rural landscapes.

Reframing Sustainable Tourism

This book examines the need for a new way of describing sustainable tourism and also looks at the frameworks needed to rethink how to apply this to communities, private operators and protected area managers. It makes it clear that tourism is just one of many human activities that affects host communities. The work includes informative and provocative case studies with realistic applications. References included in the book will help graduate students formulate new hypotheses and suggest literature for them. Tools and techniques useful to tourism practitioners suggest innovative approaches to marketing, management and community development.

Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants: Volume 10, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs

Volume 10 is part of a multi compendium Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants. This work is of significant interest to medical practitioners, pharmacologists, ethnobotanists, horticulturists, food nutritionists, botanists, agriculturists, conservationists and general public. 59 plant species with edible modified stems, roots and bulbs in the families Amaranthaceae, Cannaceae, Cibotiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cyperaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Iridaceae, Lamiaceae, Marantaceae, Nelumbonaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Nymphaeaceae, Orchidaceae, Oxalidaceae, Piperaceae, Poaceae, Rubiaceae, Simaroubaceae, Solanaceae, Tropaeolaceae, Typhaceae and Zingiberaceae. Topics covered include: taxonomy; common/ vernacular names; origin/ distribution; agroecology; edible plant parts/uses; botany; nutritive/medicinal properties, nonedible uses and selected references.

Review and Integration of Biosphere-Atmosphere Modelling of Reactive Trace Gases and Volatile Aerosols

When considering biosphere-atmosphere exchange of trace gases and volatile aerosols, significant advances have been made both from an experimental and modelling point of view and on several scales. This was particularly stimulated by the availability of new datasets generated from improvements in analytical methods and flux measurement techniques. Recent research advances allow us, not only to identify major mechanisms and factors affecting the exchanges between the biosphere and the atmosphere, but also to recognize several gaps in the methodologies used in accounting for emissions and deposition in landscape and global scale models. This work aims at (i) reviewing exchange processes and modelling schemes, parameterisations and datasets, (ii) presenting a common conceptual framework to model soil-vegetation-atmosphere exchange of reactive trace gases and aerosols accounting for in-canopy transfer chemical interactions and (iii) discussing the key elements of the agreed framework.

Mapping Wilderness

Coral Reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific: Persistence and Loss in a Dynamic Environment (Coral Reefs of the World #8)

This book documents and examines the state of health of coral reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific region. It touches on the occurrence of coral reefs in the waters of surrounding countries, and it explores their biogeography, biodiversity and condition relative to the El Niño southern oscillation and human impacts. Additionally contained within is a field that presents information on many of the species presented in the preceding chapters.

Resolving the Climate Change Crisis

This book explains why the climate change crisis is a symptom of a much larger underlying problem - namely, humankind's predilection with continuous GDP-growth. Given this starting point, the world's high-income nations must begin the transition to a qualitatively-improving steady-state economy and low-income nations must follow suit at some stage over the next 20-40 years. Unless they do, a well-designed emissions protocol will be as useless as the paper it is written on. Adopting an ecological economic approach, this book sets out why we must abandon the goal of continuous growth; how we can do so in a way that improves human well-being; what constitutes a safe atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases; and what type of emissions protocol and emissions-trading framework is likely to achieve a desirable climate change outcome. Failure of the world's leaders to achieve these goals will not only put future human well-being at risk, it will threaten freedom in the liberal-democratic tradition and international peace.

Biosafety of Forest Transgenic Trees: Improving the Scientific Basis for Safe Tree Development and Implementation of EU Policy Directives (Forestry Sciences #82)

This book provides up-to-date information on the environmental impact of transgenic trees on genetically modified tree (GMT) communication strategy. It is useful to public/private organisations as well as to private and public research bodies and universities worldwide since it reports on the global status of GMT research and policy. A high number of genetically modified trees (GMTs) with altered or novel characteristics have been produced in the last 15 years. However, their very low public acceptance is a basic problem in their commercialization. Breeders anticipate economic and ecological benefits, like reduced product costs and less pressure on native forests, while opponents fear risks, such as unintended spread of GMTs. But what is true? To answer this question, the COST Action FP0905 focused on key aspects related to GMTs: (a) biological characterization; (b) assessment of possible environmental impacts; (c) socio-economic implications and public acceptance/concerns; (d) providing science-based information to communicate with the public.

Boreal and Temperate Trees in a Changing Climate: Modelling the Ecophysiology of Seasonality (Biometeorology)

This book provides an overview of how boreal andtemperate tree species have adapted their annual development cycle to theseasonally varying climatic conditions. Therefore, the frost hardy dormant phase, and thesusceptible growth phase, are synchronized with the seasonality of the climate. The volume discusses the annual cycle, including variousattributes such as timing of bud burst and other phenological events, seasonalityof photosynthetic capacity or the frost hardiness of the trees. During the last few decades dynamic ecophysiologicalmodels have been used increasingly in studies of the annual cycle, particularlywhen projecting the ecological effects of climate change. The main emphasis of this volume is oncombining modelling with experimental studies, and on the importance of thebiological realism of the models.

Coral Reefs at the Crossroads (Coral Reefs of the World #6)

In this book, contributors from diversebackgrounds take a first step toward an integrated view of reefs and thesignificance of their recent decline. More than any other earth system, coralreefs sit at a disciplinary crossroads. Most recently, they have reachedanother crossroads - fundamental changes in their bio-physical structuregreater than those of previous centuries or even millennia. Effectivestrategies to mitigate recent trends will require an approach that embraces themyriad perspectives from across the scientific landscape, but will also need amechanism to transform scientific understanding into social will and politicalimplementation.

Green Defense Technology

This book focuses on the ways in which military installations and small cities can implement and integrate triple net planning and energy, water, and waste sustainability strategies into broad installation operational management, arrive at the best decision, create policy and communicate effectively to stakeholders. It explores current and emerging technologies, methods, and frameworks for energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy within the context of triple net zero implementation practice. Recognizing that the challenge extends beyond finding technological solutions to achieve triple net zero outcomes, the contributions also address the need for a systemic view in the planning phase, as well as adequate communication and policy measures and incentives.

Marine Renewable Energy Technology and Environmental Interactions

It is now widely recognized that there is a need for long-term secure and suitable sustainable forms of energy. Renewable energy from the marine environment, in particular renewable energy from tidal currents, wave and wind, can help achieve a sustainable energy future. Our understanding of environmental impacts and suitable mitigation methods associated with extracting renewable energy from the marine environment is improving all the time and it is essential that we be able to distinguish between natural and anthropocentric drivers and impacts. An overview of current understanding of the environmental implications of marine renewable energy technology is provided.

Water Resources Research in Northwest China

This book examines the possible impacts of climate change on hydrology and water resources in the vast arid region of Northwest China, which is one of the world's largest arid places. The first chapter offers an introductory discussion of the physical geography and socioeconomic conditions in the region. Chapters 2 through 7 discuss the climate system and hydrologic system changes in the region, and assess some implications of these changes in relation to potential evapotranspiration, the hydrological cycle and spatiotemporal variations of the snow cover and glaciers as measured via remote sensing, geographic information systems, and statistical analysis. Chapters 8 and 9 focus on model description and experimental design for interpreting the hydro-climatic process, emphasizing the integration of water, climate, and land ecosystems through field observations and computer-based simulations. Chapter 10 examines some extreme hydrological events and presents a study using the historical trend method to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of changing temperature and precipitation extremes in the hyper-arid region of Northwest China. A concluding chapter discusses possible strategies for sustainable watershed management. The contributors are acknowledged experts who bring broad, relevant experience on water resources research in China's cold and arid regions. The lessons of this volume will prove useful for understanding arid areas elsewhere in the world.