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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Botany & plant sciences > General
Nature is all around us, in the beautiful but also in the unappealing and functional, and from the awe-inspiring to the mundane. It is vital that we learn to see the agency of the natural world in all things that make our lives possible, comfortable and profitable. The Ecology of Everyday Things pulls back the veil of our familiarity on a range of 'everyday things' that surround us, and which we perhaps take too much for granted. This key into the magic world of the everyday can enable us to take better account of our common natural inheritance. Professor James Longhurst, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) For many people, ecosystems may be a remote concept, yet we eat, drink, breathe and interface with them in every moment of our lives. In this engaging textbook, ecosystems scientist Dr. Mark Everard considers a diversity of 'everyday things', including fascinating facts about their ecological origins: from the tea we drink, to the things we wear, read and enjoy, to the ecology of communities and space flight, and the important roles played by germs and 'unappealing creatures' such as slugs and wasps. In today's society, we are so umbilically connected to ecosystems that we fail to notice them, and this oversight blinds us to the unsustainability of everyday life and the industries and policy environment that supports it. The Ecology of Everyday Things takes the reader on an enlightening, fascinating voyage of discovery, all the while soundly rooted in robust science. It will stimulate awareness about how connected we all are to the natural world and its processes, and how important it is to learn to better treat our environment. Ideal for use in undergraduate- and school-level teaching, it will also interest, educate, engage and enthuse a wide range of less technical audiences.
Nitric oxide is an integral constituent of human health and its contribution towards cardiovascular, reproductive, and sexual health. All assertions are carefully referenced with citations from conventional medical journals This is the first professional resource on health benefits of flaxseed.
Seaweeds are known for their rich bioactive compounds, which promote health in human beings and are a good for the ecosystem as well. They are also natural resources that are a major source of raw material for different industries. There are still undiscovered and unexploited compounds synthesized by seaweeds that may have potential applications in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, and cosmetics industries. This book serves as a comprehensive knowledge source for the predominant roles of seaweeds in various sectors, particularly in the areas of health, environment, and agriculture. It explores the diverse biodiversity aspects of seaweeds and their derivatives. The book critically reviews the present industrial challenges to investigate the novel compounds synthesized by seaweeds and their unique characteristics and benefits. The volume covers the various biodiversity attributes of tropical seaweeds, their cultivation and bioactive compounds, and the diverse agricultural and biomedical applications of new seaweed derivatives. The authors also discuss the current challenges, emerging markets, and latest developments in extracting the useful biomolecules from seaweeds as well as the role of seaweeds in food security and environmental mitigation. With chapters written by experts and professionals in the field, this volume, Seaweed Biotechnology: Biodiversity and Biotechnology of Seaweeds and Their Applications, provides a deep understanding of the biodiversity of seaweeds around the world and their industrial, biomedical, and environmental applications.
DIRECTLY APPLIES TO LIFE ON LAND SDG and CLIMATE CHANGE SDG. International organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization and World Organization for Animal Health have all reminded us that health impacts of climate change will become some of societies' greatest challenges. How we respond or adapt to climate change will have profound implications for people, animals, biodiversity, economies and ecosystems today as well as in the future. The book provides, in one easy reference, all of the information Animal Health practitioners need from defining the climate change concept, providing science-based evidence of climate change degradation of animal (ecosystem) health and successful mitigation and reversal strategies. Despite being arguably the most important challenges of the 21st century, engagement, and leadership from the animal health sector on climate change remains hard to find. This book attempts to support animal health professionals by providing information, knowledge, and experiences they can use to remedy this situation. There is no other book that covers anything like the proposed subject matter to this level of completeness and detail. The publishing of a text of this nature could help erode the power of the climate denialism lobby, shifting the debate and allowing mitigation efforts to gain higher priority. The tone of the book has an understated sense of urgency, leaning slightly toward presenting as a 'Manual for the apocalypse'. This has potential to be a benchmark publication. The text not only defines climate change but takes a proactive approach with intervention and corrective action examples: each chapter ends with suggestions on teachable and actionable ideas that could be used to mobilize concepts and information provided into education or advocacy. In this way, the book not only brings key ideas, principles and information to understand the implications for climate change for animal health, but will help translate the book's offerings into education and intervention. Teachers and researchers could use this one-of-a-kind book to frame a course or seminar series heightening student career engagement and stewardship of a more sustainable and healthier planet.
The human use of nature is a polarizing topic in India and across the globe, often perceived as contradictory to traditional exclusionary conservation. However, India's natural landscapes serve as important sources of biological resources for many communities. This collection of case studies on sustainable use practices throughout India aims to identify the policies, management strategies, and knowledge contexts that contribute to resource use without damaging biological diversity. Through a diverse array of personal accounts, stories and photographs from the field, and ongoing research studies across biogeographic zones, readers will connect with academics, practitioners, managers, and policy analysts who challenge us to rethink the conservation paradigm. These chapters provide a reflection on the history of conservation and sustainable use in India and illuminate a path towards a local and global future in which biodiversity and human well-being go hand in hand. The wide variety of authors in this book reflects the broad audience this book will be of interest to, from students studying environmental conservation and sustainability to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who work in the field and seek to learn about successful sustainable use systems and resulting lessons that have widespread application. This book will appeal to readers interested in the areas of environment sciences, biodiversity management, sustainable development, developmental studies, forestry, wildlife and protected area management, public policy, environmental policy, and governance.
Mulberry (Morus spp.) is an important horticultural plant in the sericulture industry. It belongs to the family Moraceae. The leaf of mulberry is used to feed the silkworm Bombyx mori L. It is also used as a fodder. Due to its economic and agricultural importance, mulberry is cultivated in many parts of the world. An estimated 60% of the total cost of silk cocoon production is for production and maintenance of mulberry plants. Therefore, much attention is needed to improve the quality and quantity of mulberry leaves. It is vital to increase the production of superior quality mulberry leaves with high nutritive value for the sericulture industry. Although a lot of research is going on in mulberry, very little effort has been made to compile the results of this research in a single book. This book provides an update of recent research works going on in this plant. It describes the taxonomy, conservation of germplasm, genetic diversity of various mulberry species, application of breeding techniques to improve the quality of mulberry, in vitro conservation, application of tissue culture techniques to improve mulberry species, production of haploids and triploids in mulberry and improvement of abiotic stress adaptive traits in mulberry with relevance to adaptiveness to global warming.
An exquisitely illustrated, lively exploration of Latin plant names for gardeners. More than just a dictionary, this fascinating book explains the meanings behind hundreds of Latin plant terms, their flowering times, leaf patterns, natural habitats and all sorts of other useful information. Every gardener needs to know their Latin names. They may look confusing at first, but once you understand what certain key words mean, impenetrable-sounding and hard-to-pronounce species names are suddenly demystified. Many Latin names hide the secrets of where the plant is found, its colour, flowering times, leaf pattern, natural habitat and all sorts of other information that's extremely useful to the gardener: if you want a plant for a shady place, choose one with a name ending in sylvestris ('of woods'), while if your garden is dry, look out for the suffix epigeios ('of dry places'). More than just a dictionary of plant names, this fascinating book explains the meaning of hundreds of Latin plant terms, grouped into handily themed sections such as plants that are named after famous women, plants that are named after the shape of their leaves, plants that are named after their fragrance or the time of year that they flower. Within these pages you'll learn that Digitalis purpurea (the common foxglove) is purple, that the sanguineum in Geranium sanguineum means 'bloody' (its common name is the bloody cranesbill), and to steer clear of any plant whose Latin name ends in infestus.
This volume, Endophyte Biology: Recent Findings from the Kashmir Himalayas, is a unique compilation of the original, latest, and updated information on endophyte biology of the Kashmir Himalayas. The book presents an introduction to and definition of endophytes, the endophytic diversity of some important plants of the Kashmir Himalayas, bioprospection of endophytes for various drug metabolites, sustainable agriculture, and more. This book discusses the applications of endophytes in the agriculture, aroma, and pharmaceutical industries. Endophyte biology, the study of microorganisms, often fungi and bacteria, which live within living plant tissues, is an emerging discipline of science with a multitude of applications in ecology, agriculture, and industry. Despite having huge diversity of plants, the information about the endophyte biology is still in its infancy in this part of the world, and this book is an attempt to bridge the information gap on endophyte biology pertaining to the Kashmir Himalayas. This book will serve as a manual for research scholars as it presents the methodologies and techniques involved in endophyte biology research that can be applied in other regions of the world. Supplemented with illustrations, figures, and tables, the volume is a valuable reference for teachers and students at graduate and undergraduate level in colleges and universities as well as for scientists, researchers, and others.
- presents a broad array of global case studies exploring the interaction between religion and the conservation of nature, reflecting on both successes and failures - importantly, it gives voice to the religious practitioners and adherents themselves, where they discuss their personal motivation as conservationists and how religion energises their commitment to the conservation of other species and ecosystems - includes case studies covering a variety of religions, faiths and practicies, including traditional, indigenous, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jain, Judiasm, Shinto, and Zoroastrianism - will be of great interest to students and scholars of nature conservation, environment and religion, cultural geography and ethnobiology, as well as practitioners and professionals working in conservation
This book focuses on analysing how legal systems set the terms for interactions between human beings and plants. The story that the book recounts is one of experimental lawmaking in Ecuador, a country where over the past decade, governmental officials and civil society advocates have attempted to reconfigure how human individuals and institutions relate to nature, by following an "eco-centric" approach to lawmaking. In doing so, Ecuadorian legislators, administrators, and judges have taken seriously the ontologies of non-human entities, including plants, through a process that has required the continuous navigation of tensions with certain "logics" that pervade conventional legal regimes. The book endeavours to disrupt these conventional assumptions and approaches to lawmaking by taking seriously alternative strategies to reconstitute interactions between people and plants. In doing so, the book argues in favour of an "ecological turn" in laws that govern vegetal life. The analysis is based on a close examination of the experiences that lawmakers in Ecuador have had when experimenting with innovative approaches to re-form relationships between human and non-human beings. Concretely, these experiments have yielded constitutional, legislative, and regulatory changes that inform the inquiry of how intellectual property and plant genetic resources laws - both in Ecuador and worldwide - could become more "ecological" in nature. The argument that the book develops is based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork and empirical research in Ecuador, complemented by archival and doctrinal legal analysis. The contents of the book will be of interest to an academic audience of legal scholars and postgraduate students in law, in addition to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, sociology, socio-legal studies, and science and technology studies.
The book offers comprehensive coverage of the important topics including: Flower structure and development Development and structure of male and female gametophytes Pollination biology, Fertilization and Self-incompatibility Endosperm, Embryo and Polyembryony Apomixis and Seed Biology
The topic of wildfire is currently receiving a lot of attention in international media. This is the case right now with conflagrations stretching across the American West. This has also been the case over the past few years with fires in Australia, Chile, Brazil, Portugal, and South Africa, among others. While most publications on this topic unpack one scale of intervention—defensible space for protecting individual homes—this book will study a range of potential tactics, from a watershed management scale down to a molecular scale. It aims to provide a more holistic set of approaches for designers to consider when working between wildland and the built environment. For the case studies, this book will not just draw upon work from professional design firms, as these projects tend to be limited in quantity as well as in scope. Rather, it will draw upon indigenous practices, community-driven projects, and speculative academic proposals to create a larger bank of ideas.
Published in Association with the New York Botanical Garden The Manual of Leaf Architecture is an essential reference for describing, comparing, and classifying the leaves of flowering plants. This manual, illustrated with dozens of line drawings and more than 300 photographs of prepared stained leaves, provides a framework with comparative examples allowing consistent and detailed description of both modern and fossil leaves. This one-of-a-kind resource will be invaluable to a broad range of people who work with plants, from paleobotanists to systematists to tropical ecologists. The Manual allows for the description and identification of plants independently of their flowers, offering especially useful assistance in the case of fossil leaves (usually found in isolation) and tropical plants, whose flowering cycles can be brief and irregular, and whose fruits and flowers may be difficult to access. It provides long-needed guidelines for characterizing the organization, shape, venation, and margins of the leaves of flowering plants. Beginning with a set of illustrated definitions of leaf characters, this manual proceeds to define and illustrate the variations on each of these characters. The system presented here is based on a widely tested scheme but has been significantly expanded and refined through the detailed examination of thousands of living and fossil leaves.
- presents a broad array of global case studies exploring the interaction between religion and the conservation of nature, reflecting on both successes and failures - importantly, it gives voice to the religious practitioners and adherents themselves, where they discuss their personal motivation as conservationists and how religion energises their commitment to the conservation of other species and ecosystems - includes case studies covering a variety of religions, faiths and practicies, including traditional, indigenous, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jain, Judiasm, Shinto, and Zoroastrianism - will be of great interest to students and scholars of nature conservation, environment and religion, cultural geography and ethnobiology, as well as practitioners and professionals working in conservation
The book provides an informative overview of diabetes mellitus in conjunction with current plant-based treatments for this disease and available methods for studying the antidiabetic activities of scientifically developed plant products, mechanisms of action, their therapeutic superiority, and current genome editing research perspectives and biotechnological approaches. The book begins with an introduction to diabetes, giving an overview of the history, diagnosis, classification, pathophysiology, and risk factors. It goes on to review traditional uses of plants for diabetes along with some ethnobotanical information as well. The results of scientific studies on the various modes of action of antidiabetic plants are discussed, such as the molecular aspects active plant-based antidiabetic drug molecules. A section featuring recent biotechnological advancements of antidiabetic plants and plant-based antidiabetic drugs covers advances in molecular breeding and application of molecular markers, biotechnologically engineered transgenic medicinal plants, and advances in genomic editing tools and techniques. This volume will be helpful for researchers, medical practitioners, academicians, students in the study of plant-based treatments for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.
This book will interest practitioners and researchers in the food science and nutrition fields, and possibly others with an interest in the interaction between diet and health. There have been considerable advances in scientific techniques in the last few decades and these have been used to examine the composition and applications of traditional cures. Modern science has also seen the investigation of herbs, spices and botanicals beyond their traditional usage. The evidence-based approach that the Editors propose is relatively rare for this type of topic.
The extreme microbiomes are those microorganisms thriving under extreme conditions where no other living being will have any chance to survive. The extreme habitats are those presenting high temperatures (thermophiles), low temperature (psychrophiles), hypersaline environments (halophiles), low and high pH (Acidophiles/alkaliphiles), high pressure (Piezophiles) are distributed worldwide. The extreme habitats have proved to offer a unique reservoir of genetic diversity and biological source of extremophiles. The extremophilic microbial diversity and their biotechnological potential use in agricultural and industrial applications will be a milestone for future needs. Extremophiles and their cell components, therefore, are expected to play an important role in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, paper and textile industries as well as environmental biotechnology.
This book explores recent advances on the use of microbes for agri-forestry biotechnological applications. It provides technical concepts and discussions on the use of microorganisms for processes such as bioprocessing, bioremediation, soil enhancement, aquaponics advances, and plant-host symbiosis. The book provides an overview of the microbial approach to the tools and processes used in agriculture and forestry that make or modify products, improve plants for specific uses, and make use of livestock in agricultural systems. The authors discuss the main process conditions that enhance agri-forestry applications with the use of microbes and introduce the use of genetically modified (GM) microbes in agrobiotechnology. Finally, the authors explore the main technological advances in the production of secondary metabolites with potential applications in agri-forestry. This book is intended for biotechnologists, biologists, bioengineers, biochemists, microbiologists, food technologists, enzymologists, and related researchers.
This volume provides informative research on the scientific evidence of the health benefits that can be derived from medicinal plants and how their efficacies can be improved. It is divided into three sections that cover the phytochemistry of medicinal plants, disease management with medicinal plants, and novel research techniques in medicinal plants. The pharmacological benefits of several specific plants are discussed, addressing health issues such as metabolic and mental disorders, acute mountain sickness, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and specific diseases such as Huntington's. It also looks at the role of antioxidants in disease management. Additionally, the book covers recent problems of drug resistance and how medicinal plants can serve as antibiotic, anthelmintic, and antiparasitic drugs that will be helpful for human and animals.
Nitric oxide is an integral constituent of human health and its contribution towards cardiovascular, reproductive, and sexual health. All assertions are carefully referenced with citations from conventional medical journals This is the first professional resource on health benefits of flaxseed.
This unique book covers the molecular aspects of plant stress and the various industrial applications. Chapters cover many important topics in the biology of plant stress, including morphological and physiological changes of plants due to accumulation of pollutants; the types of stress for enhanced biofuel production from plant biomass; plant adaptation due to different types of environmental stresses; potential applications of microRNAs to improve abiotic stress tolerance in plants; plant resistance to viruses and the molecular aspects; photosynthesis under stress conditions; plant responses to weeds, pests, pathogens, and agrichemical stress conditions; and plant responses under the stress of drought. Key features: * Describes the different types of plant stress * Details the current and possible applications of plant stress biology * Presents several case studies that include applications of plant stress * Explores plant stress biology for applications in biofuel science Plant Stress Biology: Progress and Prospects of Genetic Engineering will be useful for researchers in diverse fields as well as for plant biologists, environmental biologists, faculty, and students. The book will also be helpful for further advancement of research in the area of plant stress biology.
This 4-volume set focuses on the use of microbial bioremediation and phytoremediation to clean up pollutants in soil, such as pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, and chlorinated solvents, which reduce the soil's fertility and renders it unfit for plant growth. Volume 1: Fundamental Aspects and Contaminated Sites begins with an overview of phytoremediation and the role of environmental factors. It goes on to introduce soil assessment techniques and offers methods of remediation designed to combat soil and agricultural degradation. It discusses soils contaminated by heavy metals; microbial and phytoremediation-based removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from coal, crude oil, and gasoline; microbial bioremediation and amelioration of pesticide-contaminated soils; phytoremediation techniques for biomedical waste contaminated sites; as well as biomediation processes for human waste sites. Biopesticides are also explained as an alternative to conventional pesticides. Other volumes in the 4-volume set: * Volume 2: Microbial Approaches and Recent Trends * Volume 3: Inventive Techniques, Research Methods, and Case Studies * Volume 4: Degradation of Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls Together, these four volumes provide in-depth coverage of the mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of the bioremediation and phytoremediation technologies for safe and sustainable soil management.
There is a great deal of contemporary interest in this topic and given this context, it is surprising that there are few texts around that cover this area. I think the proposal is perfectly placed to address this gap in the available literature in terms of an accessible ‘one-stop shop’ which researchers and scientists value as a broad overview of the contemporary literature and evidence-base. This book will interest practitioners and researchers in the food science and nutrition fields, and possibly others with an interest in the interaction between diet and health. There have been considerable advances in scientific techniques in the last few decades and these have been used to examine the composition and applications of traditional cures. Modern science has also seen the investigation of herbs, spices, and botanicals beyond their traditional usage. The evidence-based approach that the Editors propose is relatively rare for this type of topic. I think the market is already established for a book of this kind, it’s simply that there isn’t currently a book available to tap this market. I would believe this book would fulfill that role admirably.
1. Provides a comprehensive overview of Vanadium in the total environment 2. Covers the role of Vanadium in various environments such as soils, sediments, water, and plants 3. Includes bioavailability studies and further case studies from various countries around the world 4. Focuses on a better understanding of biogeochemical processes of Vanadium 5. Written by international experts who present the current stage of the knowledge including innovative remediation and management approaches of vanadium-contaminated sites. This book with being of use to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in Soil science, Environmental science, Soil ecology, Water science, Plant science, Ecotoxicology, Geology, Geography. Scientists, lecturers, environmental and technical engineers, ecologists, applied ecological scientists, and managers. |
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