Fossil records indicate the Neotropical Dry Forests had a more continuous distribution in the recent geological past, especially in the late Pleistocene, more precisely at the end of the last glacial period. Seasonal Deciduous Forests are remnants of a broader continuous distribution that was present in the past, ranging from North-Eastern Brazil to Argentina in the Pleistocene dry period. This currently fragmented structure is the result of the dry, cold climate that caused the retraction of Wet Forests to riversides and the spread of seasonal forests. This book discusses the ecology, species diversity and sustainable management of dry forests. The topics include a biogeographical overview of the "lianescent clade" of violaceae in the Neotropical region; diversity and distribution of hymenoptera aculeate in mid-western Brazilian dry forests; the Brazilian "caatinga"; changes in the labile and recalcitrant organic matter fractions due to transformation of semi-deciduous dry tropical forest to pasture in the western llanos, Venezuela; ecology and management of the dry forests and savannas of the western Chaco region, Argentina; predicting pasture security in rangeland districts of Kenya using 1 km resolution spot vegetation sensor ndvi data.

During the Middle Sican period (C.E. 950-1050) on the North Coast of Peru, artisans developed a sophisticated tradition of ceramic and metalworking production amidst dry coastal forests of the region. Organic fuel resources, specifically wood, clearly played a vital role in the manufacture of these objects; however, this component of production has been largely overlooked. Thus, a major gap in our understanding of the relationship between Sican period production and the local landscape has developed. The Sican Archaeological Project (SAP) suggests that the production of metal and ceramics during this period likely placed the local fuel resources under considerable stress. Yet, an evaluation of the archaeological data is essential to assess the degree of overexploitation, identifying the fuels used, their contexts for use, and their role in local ecology. This study interprets how Middle Sican artisans met their fuel-wood requirements for production in light of easily endangered forest resources. An examination of the archaeological charcoal from Middle Sican period kilns, hearths, and metal furnaces permits the reconstruction of fuel use and the ecological setting of production. This unique site demonstrates the concurrent production of metal and ceramics, as well as the presence of domestic activity. Using wood anatomy of fuels recovered from archaeological features, the author identified the fuel materials of different use contexts.

An overview of tropical rainforests for kids. Rainforests describes tropical rainforests, why they are important, and what is happening to them. Rainforests is based on the award-winning mongabay.com web site. "Rainforests" includes discussion of topics including conservation and protected areas, biodiversity and ecology, environmental activism, sustainable development, consumption, and economics.

The Changing Nature of the Maine Woods is both a fascinating introduction to the forests of Maine and a detailed but accessible narrative of the dynamism of these ecosystems. This is natural history with a long view, starting with an overview of the state's geological history, the reemergence of the forest after glacial retreat, and the surprising changes right up to European arrival. The authors create a vivid picture of Maine forests just before the impact of Euro-Americans and trace the profound transformations since settlement.
Ambitious in its geographic range, this book explores how and why Maine forests differ across the state, from the top of Mount Katahdin to the coast. Through groundbreaking research and engaging narratives, the authors assess key ecological forces such as climate change, insects and disease, nonnative organisms, natural disturbance, and changing land use to create a dramatic portrait of Maine forests--past, present, and future.
This book both synthesizes the latest scientific discoveries regarding the changing forest and relates the findings to an educated lay and academic audience.

A study of how encounters between forestry bureaucrats and indigenous forest managers in Mexico produced official knowledge about forests and the state. Greater knowledge and transparency are often promoted as the keys to solving a wide array of governance problems. In Instituting Nature, Andrew Mathews describes Mexico's efforts over the past hundred years to manage its forests through forestry science and biodiversity conservation. He shows that transparent knowledge was produced not by official declarations or scientists' expertise but by encounters between the relatively weak forestry bureaucracy and the indigenous people who manage and own the pine forests of Mexico. Mathews charts the performances, collusions, complicities, and evasions that characterize the forestry bureaucracy. He shows that the authority of forestry officials is undermined by the tension between local realities and national policy; officials must juggle sweeping knowledge claims and mundane concealments, ambitious regulations and routine rule breaking. Moving from government offices in Mexico City to forests in the state of Oaxaca, Mathews describes how the science of forestry and bureaucratic practices came to Oaxaca in the 1930s and how local environmental and political contexts set the stage for local resistance. He tells how the indigenous Zapotec people learned the theory and practice of industrial forestry as employees and then put these skills to use when they become the owners and managers of the area's pine forests-eventually incorporating forestry into their successful claims for autonomy from the state. Despite the apparently small scale and local contexts of this balancing act between the power of forestry regulations and the resistance of indigenous communities, Mathews shows that it has large implications-for how we understand the modern state, scientific knowledge, and power and for the global carbon markets for which Mexican forests might become valuable.

An overview of tropical rainforests for kids. Rainforests describes tropical rainforests, why they are important, and what is happening to them. Based on the award-winning mongabay.com web site. Includes photos, charts, and maps. Note: this version is black and white; there is also a color version.

The Red Hills region of south Georgia and north Florida contains one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in North America, with longleaf pine trees that are up to four hundred years old and an understory of unparalleled plant life. At first glance, the longleaf woodlands at plantations like Greenwood, outside Thomasville, Georgia, seem undisturbed by market economics and human activity, but Albert G. Way contends that this environment was socially produced and that its story adds nuance to the broader narrative of American conservation.

The Red Hills woodlands were thought of primarily as a healthful refuge for northern industrialists in the early twentieth century. When notable wildlife biologist Herbert Stoddard arrived in 1924, he began to recognize the area's ecological value. Stoddard was with the federal government, but he drew on local knowledge to craft his land management practices, to the point where a distinctly southern, agrarian form of ecological conservation emerged. This set of practices was in many respects progressive, particularly in its approach to fire management and species diversity, and much of it remains in effect today.

Using Stoddard as a window into this unique conservation landscape, "Conserving Southern Longleaf" positions the Red Hills as a valuable center for research into and understanding of wildlife biology, fire ecology, and the environmental appreciation of a region once dubbed simply the "pine barrens."

An unabridged, illustrated edition with a foreword by Ralph Waldo Emerson, to include: Biographical Sketch - Natural History of Massachusetts - A Walk to Wachusett - The Landlord - A Winter Walk - The Succession of Forest Trees - Walking - Autumnal Tints - Wild Apples - Night and Moonlight

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Tropical rain forests contain most of the world's known biological diversity. Understanding how this diversity persists in the face of anthropogenic disturbance is an increasingly critical issue. To manage and preserve intact ecosystems, and to restore degraded ones, a better knowledge of the basic ecological processes that affect them is necessary. We must be able to answer such questions as: How are plant communities structured? How is diversity maintained in species-rich ecosystems? What ecological factors determine which plants grow where? Many processes are known to shape plant communities, but what is their relative importance? Approaching answers to these questions is the primary focus of this book. The book presents a case study, built upon experiments performed in a Peruvian rain forest. The author conducted a series of manipulative experiments on tree seedlings to dissect the various forces that shape their coexistence. This book is directed to an audience of ecologists, forest researchers, and conservationists.

A longstanding debate on health system organization relates to the benefits of integrating programs that emphasize specific interventions into mainstream health systems to increase access and improve health outcomes. This debate has long been characterized by polarization of views and ideologies, with protagonists for and against integration arguing relative merits of each approach. Recently, the debate has been rekindled due to substantial rises in externally-funded programs for priority health, nutrition, and population (HNP) interventions and an increase in international efforts aimed at health system strengthening. However, all too frequently these arguments have not been based on hard evidence. In this book we present findings of a systematic review that explores a broad range of evidence on: (i) the extent and nature of integration of targeted health programs that emphasize specific interventions into critical health systems functions; (ii) how the integration or non-integration of health programs into critical health systems functions in different contexts have influenced program success; and (iii) how contextual factors have affected the extent to which these programs were integrated into critical health systems functions. The findings provide a new synthesis of evidence to inform the debate on health systems and targeted interventions. In practice a rich mix of solutions exists. While the discussion on the relative merits of integrating health interventions will no doubt continue, discussions should move away from the highly-reductionist approach that has polarized this debate.

The discipline of landscape ecology has matured rapidly over the past few decades, generating a wealth of knowledge that can be used to enhance forest policy development and management. However, much of this knowledge has yet to be applied in practice.

Forest Landscape Ecology: Transferring Knowledge to Practice is the first book to introduce landscape ecologists to the discipline of knowledge transfer. The book considers knowledge transfer in general, critically examines aspects of transfer that are unique to forest landscape ecology, and reviews several case studies of successful applications for policy developers and forest managers in North America. Readers are encouraged to recognize the value of sharing their knowledge, and to understand their role in active knowledge transfer. The intent is to connect, as seamlessly and effectively as possible, ecological principles to policy and practice.

This book is written for researchers, academics and students in landscape ecology and related fields, as well as policymakers and land and resource managers who are interested in landscape-level approaches.

About the Editors:

Ajith H. Perera is a research scientist and leads the Forest Landscape Ecology Program at the Ontario Forest Research Institute. Lisa J. Buse is a forest biologist who coordinates technology transfer for the Ontario Forest Research Institute. Thomas R. Crow is national program leader for ecological research and environmental sciences with the USDA Forest Service.

One such significant tradition is that of providing protection to patches of forests dedicated to deities and/or ancestral spirits. These patches of forests are known as sacred groves. The tradition is very ancient and once was widespread in most parts of the world. The estimated number of sacred groves in India in about two lakhs. Groves are rich heritage of India, and play an important role in religious and socio-cultural life of the local people. These ecosystems harbour many threatened, endangered and rare plant and animal species. The book covers various cultural and ecological dimensions of sacred groves in India, and describes recent initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders to strengthen this multifarious institution.