The Biology of Disturbed Habitats

Lawrence R. Walker (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

336 Seiten

2011
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-957529-9 (ISBN)

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This book provides the first global synthesis of the biology of disturbed habitats and offers readers both the conceptual underpinnings and practical advice required to comprehend and address the unprecedented environmental challenges facing humans. Every habitat on earth has been impacted by natural disturbances such as volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, fires, floods, and droughts. Humans have contributed many additional disturbances such as mining, urbanization, forestry, agriculture, fishing, and recreation. These anthropogenic disturbances modify and often exacerbate the effects of the natural disturbances. Together, they result in the abrupt loss of biomass or ecosystem structure and function to create denuded surfaces where novel mixtures of native and non-native microbes, plants, and animals establish, grow, and die. The Biology of Disturbed Habitats examines both natural and anthropogenic disturbances in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. It explores how nutrients and productivity are altered in the disturbed habitats, the effects of disturbance on biodiversity, and the spatial and temporal dynamics of organisms that colonize disturbed habitats. This book also addresses how to manage disturbances through appropriate conservation and restoration measures, and discusses how climate change and overpopulation now represent the most challenging disturbances at a global scale.

Lawrence R. Walker is a professor of plant ecology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research focuses on the mechanisms that drive plant succession after natural and anthropogenic disturbances including cyclones, volcanoes, landslides, mine tailings, and abandoned roads. These disturbances are located in tropical, temperate, boreal, and arctic biomes. He also studies the management of disturbances through restoration. Walker emphasizes comparisons across environmental gradients and many different types of disturbances, searching for useful generalizations about disturbance ecology, succession, and restoration. He has over 115 scientific publications, including seven books, has won several research awards, is co-editor of a book series, and is an ISI highly cited researcher.

Preface ; 1. Introduction ; 2. Terrestrial habitats ; 3. Aquatic habitats ; 4. Anthropogenic habitats ; 5. Ecosystem processes ; 6. Biodiversity and invasive species ; 7. Spatial patterns ; 8. Temporal dynamics ; 9. Management ; 10. Global concerns and future scenarios ; Glossary ; References ; Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	22.12.2011
Reihe/Serie	Biology of Habitats Series
Zusatzinfo	Over 100 illustrations
Verlagsort	Oxford
Sprache	englisch
Maße	162 x 240 mm
Gewicht	722 g
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Botanik
	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Limnologie / Meeresbiologie
	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zoologie
ISBN-10	0-19-957529-0 / 0199575290
ISBN-13	978-0-19-957529-9 / 9780199575299
Zustand	Neuware