The soils are fundamental to our existence, delivering water and nutrients to plants, that feed us. But they are in many ways in danger and their conservation is therefore a most important focus for science, governments and society as a whole. A team of world recognised researchers have prepared this first English edition based on the 16th European edition. * The precursors and the processes of soil development * The physical, biological and chemical properties of soils * Nutrients and Pollutants * The various soil classifications with the main focus on the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) * The most important soils and soil landscapes of the world * Soil Evaluation Techniques * Basic Principles of Soil Conservation Whoever works with soils needs this book.

This edited collection of works by leading climate scientists and philosophers introduces readers to issues in the foundations, evaluation, confirmation, and application of climate models. It engages with important topics directly affecting public policy, including the role of doubt, the use of satellite data, and the robustness of models. Climate Modelling provides an early and significant contribution to the burgeoning Philosophy of Climate Science field that will help to shape our understanding of these topics in both philosophy and the wider scientific context. It offers insight into the reasons we should believe what climate models say about the world but addresses the issues that inform how reliable and well-confirmed these models are. This book will be of interest to students of climate science, philosophy of science, and of particular relevance to policy makers who depend on the models that forecast future states of the climate and ocean in order to make public policy decisions.

This book explores the link between individual lives and significant environmental issues affecting millions of people around the world. Zolnikov offers a novel perspective on the environment and human health through autoethnographic stories. Each chapter includes an overview of an environmental risk factor or issue, such as air quality, accompanied by a reflective personal story. Her experiences were gathered around the world and revolve around immersion into local cultures. Learning about environmental health through this qualitative approach will enable readers to understand how issues in the environment are currently affecting people on an individual basis.

This book highlights the development of lake systems and water reservoirs as well as the impact of climate change on water resources in Central Asian countries. It provides information on the genesis of lake basins, physical and chemical properties of water in lakes, and the hydrological regimes (water balance and fluctuation levels) of lakes of Central Asia and Xinjiang. The book is useful for scientists and researchers whose work focuses on lakes and the use of natural resources, irrigation, hydropower and water supply, as well as for students and planners.

This handbook is recognition of the need to better integrate physical and human geography. It combines a collection of work and research within the new field of Critical Physical Geography, which gives critical attention to relations of social power with deep knowledge of a particular field of biophysical science. Critical Physical Geography research accords careful attention to biophysical landscapes and the power relations that have increasingly come to shape them, and to the politics of environmental science and the role of biophysical inquiry in promoting social and environmental justice. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Physical Geography lays out the scope and guiding principles of Critical Physical Geography research. It presents a carefully selected set of empirical work, demonstrating the range and intellectual strength of existing integrative work in geography research. This handbook is the first of its kind to cover this emerging discipline and will be of significant interest to students and academics across the fields of geography, the environment and sustainability.

At a time of societal urgency surrounding ecological crises from depleted fisheries to mineral extraction and potential pathways towards environmental and ecological justice, this book re-examines ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) from a historical and comparative perspective. The theory of ecologically unequal exchange posits that core or northern consumption and capital accumulation is based on peripheral or southern environmental degradation and extraction. In other words, structures of social and environmental inequality between the Global North and Global South are founded in the extraction of materials from, as well as displacement of waste to, the South. This volume represents a set of tightly interlinked papers with the aim to assess ecologically unequal exchange and to move it forward. Chapters are organised into three main sections: theoretical foundations and critical reflections on ecologically unequal exchange; empirical research on mining, deforestation, fisheries, and the like; and strategies for responding to the adverse consequences associated with unequal ecological exchange. Scholars as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from the spirited re-evaluation and extension of ecologically unequal exchange theory, research, and praxis.

This book presents the core concepts of geographical education as a means of understanding global issues from a spatial perspective. It treats education, supported by high standards, approaches, methodologies, and resources, as essential in exploring the interactions of the world's human and environmental systems at local, regional, and global scales embedded in the nature of the discipline of geography. It covers topics such as climate change, sustainable development goals, geopolitics in an uncertain world, global crisis, and population flows, which are of great interest to geography researchers and social sciences educators who want to explore the complexity of contemporary societies. Highly respected scholars in geography education answer questions on key topics and explain how global understanding is considered in K-12 education in significant countries around the globe. The book discusses factors such as the Internet, social media, virtual globes and other technological developments that provide insights into and visualization - in real time - of the intensity of relationships between different countries and regions of the earth. It also examines how this does not always lead to empathy with other political, cultural, social and religious values: terrorism threats and armed conflicts are also essential features of the global world. This book opens the dialogue for global understanding as a great opportunity for teachers, educators, scholars and policy makers to better equip students and future citizens to deal with global issues.

This book integrates the analyses of organic carbon and carbonate accumulation in soil and lake sediment in a typical arid region of China that has experienced significant climate and land-use changes. It demonstrates that carbonate accumulation greatly exceeds organic carbon in both soil and sediment. It also shows that intensive cropping with sound land management in the arid land not only increases soil organic carbon stock, but also enhances accumulation of soil carbonate, particularly in subsoils. Carbon accumulation in the lake sediment increased between 1950 and 2000, after which it declined, and the authors explore how human activity and climate change may have caused the changes in carbon burial in the lake sediment. This book is of interest to researchers in a number of fields such as soil science, limnology and global change, as well as to the policy-makers.

This book brings together contributions from experts in water management, scientists, researchers, academics and lecturers, sharing experiences and successes in this field. It is devoted to a wide range of water resources management issues, including water quality to water quantity, considering all impacts of water issues in the environment. The book presents international approaches to the latest developments in both the fundamental bases and the applicability of state-of-the-art knowledge that can be effectively used for solving a variety of large problems in integrated water resources management. The main focus of the book is on water pollution - physical, chemical, biological, and geographical pollution, hydrology problems, and limnology tasks.

This book presents a range of academic research and personal reflections on the Gorkha earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015. For the first time, perspectives from geography, disaster risk reduction, cultural heritage protection, archaeology, anthropology, social work, health and emergency response are discussed in a single volume. Contributions are included from practitioners and researchers from Nepal and Durham University in the UK, many of whom were in Nepal at the time of the earthquake. Evolving Narratives of Hazard and Risk explores the event of the earthquake, its consequences and its impacts, to provide a holistic and multi-perspective understanding of this special hazard and its significant ramifications for social, political, economic and cultural aspects of life in Nepal. The book highlights how these multiple perspectives are needed to inform each other in order to develop and shape new ways of thinking and interacting with environmental hazards. This collection of works will be of interest to students and academics of Environment Studies, Human Geography and Environmental Policy, and will be of particular relevance to those involved in risk research and managing risk and hazard events.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the practice of sustainability through a diverse range of case studies spanning across varied fields and areas of expertise. It provides a clear indication as to the contemporary state of sustainability in a time faced by issues such as global climate change, challenges of environmental justice, economic globalization and environmental contamination. The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability explores three broad themes: Environmental Sustainability, Social Sustainability and Economic Sustainability. The authors critically explore these themes and provide insight into their linkages with one another to demonstrate the substantial efforts currently underway to address the sustainability of our planet. This handbook is an important contribution to the best practises on sustainability, drawn from many different examples across the fields of engineering, geology, anthropology, sociology, biology, chemistry and religion.

This edited collection assesses governance in forestry programmes and projects, including REDD+ governance. It examines political representation, participation and decentralisation in forest governance, providing insight as to how forest governance arrangements can be responsive to the socio-economic interests of local people and communities who live adjacent to and depend on forests. Global Forest Governance and Climate Change argues that inclusive complementary representation of local communities is required for strong participatory processes and democratic decentralisation of forest governance. Responsiveness to local people's socio-economic interests in forestry initiatives require paying attention to not just the hosting of participatory meetings and activities, but also to the full cast of appointed, self-authorized, and elected representative agents that stand, speak, and act for local people. This book will be of interest to students and academics across the fields of climate change governance, forestry, development studies, and political economy. It will also be a useful resource for policy makers and practitioners responsible for forestry and climate change initiatives.

Drawing from military geography's spatial roots, its embrace of dynamic systems, and integration of human and biophysical environments, this book helps in understanding the value of analyzing patterns, processes and systems, and cross-scale and multi-disciplinary ways of acting in a complex world, while making the case for a resurgence of strategic and military geography in Australia. Here, leading experts demonstrate that geography retains its relevance in clarifying the scale and dynamics of defense activities in assessments of the international, regional, national, and site impacts of changes in physical, cyber and human geographies. The cases presented show Australia contributing to a growing strategic and military geography.

This book analyzes climate change associated effects in the mountainous and coastal environments of Vietnam. The scope of the book allows international comparisons to be made between these two affected areas and other similarly affected locations under constant environmental pressure. Frequent and intense climate change hazards are described, along with a wider context of integrated interpretations, socioeconomic implications and policy responses. The book reports on original research combining methodologies from the natural sciences with approaches in human sciences, providing an interdisciplinary human ecological context to analyze similar situations worldwide. The book is structured in four parts. The first part offers background information, and details the human ecological framework. The geography of the analyzed regions is discussed to reflect the environmental and socioeconomic context of Vietnam's coasts and mountains. The second part addresses the coast of Central Vietnam. The effects of tropical storms, floods, rising sea levels and coastal erosion in Ky Anh are studied to highlight the impacts on the local population and its development perspectives. The third part focuses on the uplands of Northern Vietnam. The effects of cyclones, heavy rains, floods, flash floods, and landslides in the Van Chan Mountains are studied to compare the biophysical and socioeconomic impacts. Part four makes policy recommendations in building resilient landscapes and green cities, and discusses the potential implications of findings for practice in Vietnam. The book addresses a wide array of researchers, geography and economics students, consultants and decision makers interested in the actual status and the likely developments on the physical, socioeconomic and mitigation and adaptation attitudes and policies of climate change associated effects.

This edited volume establishes a forum for international experts to explore cutting-edge questions associated with the land use and biomass production. Topics include 'do we have enough land, either primary or marginal, to accommodate future production of biomass?', 'how are farming decisions made in response to biomass incentives?', 'is the current bio-mass production socially, economically and environmentally sustainable?', and 'what are the main constraints currently limiting biofuel deployment?' The expansion of biomass production is often at the cost of reduced land availability for food production and losses of areas with ecological functions such as forests and wetlands. This process often involves complex interplay of physical dynamics and human systems that are driven by numerous geographic and socio-economic factors at different scales. Thus, the state-of-the-art research on the land use issues surrounding the biomass production and its environmental impacts is important for informed land management decision making. This book will be of great use to researchers in land use management and biomass-based renewable energy, as well as practitioners.

This authored book assesses the spatial patterns of climate change and gender inequalities across the Global South, and analyzes the disproportionate impacts that climate change processes have on women in these regions. Though many books attempt to incorporate gender issues into climate change, this book examines the issue as a whole by addressing the relationship between climate change and gender from a number of perspectives. The book incorporates case studies from various regions of the Global South, a designation broadly defined as the countries of Africa, Middle and South America, and most of Asia including the Middle East. In the book's two main sections, readers will learn about how climate change affects access to regional opportunities and resources, the obstacles created by climate change that affect women more strongly than men, and how affected female populations adapt to changing conditions and protect their local livelihoods. Section one, covering chapters 1 and 2, addresses the spatial patterns of climate change and gender inequalities/inequities across the Global South by analyzing long-term trends from the latest reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the World Economic forum. Section two, covering chapters 3 through 7, discusses the critical issues related to climate change and gender inequality, and presents literature reviews and case studies in the Global South. The different issues and perspectives discussed include health, water and food security, education, conflicts, migration, participation in decision-making processes, and changing urban social landscapes. The concluding chapter discusses policy initiatives and makes recommendations to some of the gender mainstreaming through empowerment and participation. This interdisciplinary book will appeal to academics and policy-makers beyond just the fields of environmental sciences and gender studies, and may be adopted as a resource for graduate students and researchers.

This atlas provides the most comprehensive and accurate overview of environmental risks relating to climate change vulnerability and adaptation in China. It addresses the agricultural, ecosystem and heat wave health risk posed by climate change and presents the projected environmental risks in the 21st century under climate change and socioeconomic scenarios. The detailed and concise risk assessments are mapped in grid units, allowing easy environmental risk assessment for specific locations. The atlas contributes significantly to the knowledge base for climate change adaptation in China and is a valuable resource for students and professionals in the fields of geographic sciences and climate change.

This book is a compilation of recent developments in land, ecosystem, and water management in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The state is located in the biodiversity hotspot of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlantica), a biome characterized by high biological diversity and endemism. At the same time the state of Rio de Janeiro emerged to one of the economic hubs in Latin America. This development process has been accompanied by population growth, industrialization, urbanization, as well as consumption and degradation of land and water resources. In the past years many efforts have been made to stop or at least slow down these degradation processes and restore degraded environments with the overall goal to bring together sustainable management of natural resources, nature conservation, and economic development. An overview is provided of the different strategies and tools that have been developed in the fields of agriculture, ecosystem management and biodiversity, integrated water management, land restoration, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, as well as environmental governance and economic instruments. This book covers a wide spectrum from applied research to science-policy interfaces, planning concepts, and technical tools and has a model character for other rural areas in Latin America. Target groups are scientists, practitioners, policy makers and graduate students in the field of environmental management. The different chapters are written by researchers and practitioners of the German-Brazilian project INTECRAL (Integrated Eco Technologies and Services for a Sustainable Rural Rio de Janeiro), the rural development program Rio Rural under the state secretary for agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as invited scientists from Brazilian universities and research institutes. It bridges existing gaps between science, policies, and practice in rural development.

This book describes the existential threats facing the global water systems from population growth and economic development, unsustainable use, environmental change, and weak and fragmented governance. It argues that 'business-as-usual' water science and management cannot solve global water problems because today's water systems are increasingly complex and face uncertain future conditions. Instead, a more holistic, strategic, agile and publically engaged process of water decision making is needed. Building Resilience for Uncertain Water Futures emphasises the importance of adaptation through a series of case studies of cities, regions, and communities that have experimented with anticipatory policy-making, scenario development, and public engagement. By shifting perspective from an emphasis on management to one of adaptation, the book emphasizes the capacity to manage uncertainties, the need for cross-sector coordination, and mechanisms for engaging stakeholder with differing goals and conflict resolution. This book will be a useful resource for students and academics seeking a better understanding of sustainable water use, water policy and water resources management.

This book explores the real-world consequences changing ideas and strategies have on effective climate governance. Its main focus is on why accountability matters - both for transformations and transitions in international climate change governance and how international support for environmentally responsible actions, and extending shared accountabilities, might strengthen climate governance globally. A main point of discussion is if and how better understanding of accountabilities and transformations in ecosystems dynamics, the capacities of organisms to adapt, migrate or otherwise respond to environmental or climatic changes, can improve climate governance mechanisms. Bringing together a diverse set of considerations from various fields of study, chapters examine responses to environmental transformations that occur during periods of climatic crisis, such as species depletion, industrialisation, de-industrialisation or urbanisation. Throughout, this book aims to further readers understanding of if or how accountable climate governance can reduce the risks of global political disorder and widespread conflict in the 21st century, arising from environmental transformations of depleted forests, re-routed waterways, coastlines impacted by sea level rises, changed rainfall patterns and industrial practices.

This book presents studies on current vegetation topics, from polar to tropical regions. It is a festschrift to mark the 70th birthday of Prof. Elgene O. Box, who has studied vegetation all over the world, both through fieldwork and modeling. It reflects a number of his interests, including basic ecological plant forms (cf 'plant functional types'), temperate-zone forests, and evergreen versus seasonal patterns. Section 1 discusses the concept of vegetation series, while Section 2 has two global-scale chapters on plant functional traits and whether they are related more to climate or phylogeny. Section 3 has nine chapters focusing on vegetation history, regional vegetation, and how these have influenced current species organizations and distributions. Regions treated include Russia, China, the USA, Mexico and Mediterranean areas. Lastly, Section 4 addresses aspects of vegetation change and plant ecology. Every chapter in this unique book offers original ideas on the topic of vegetation, as the authors are assembled from a world-wide population of leading vegetational ecologists, whose interests range from local communities to global theoretical questions.

This book highlights studies of differentiation problems of natural geosystems because of anthropogenic impact. The systematic methodology of comprehensive ecological assessment of anthropogenic impact on natural geosystems and their differentiations on the level of technogenic conditionality for ensuring rational environmental management and environmental protection are discussed. The practical importance of this book lies in the evidence-based recommendations and actions for conservation and quality management of the environment in order to decrease the degree of anthropogenic impact and in prevention of degradation processes. The book is useful to the researchers, industrial, scientific, and other organizations in establishing the purpose of the problem and solution to environmental protection and rational environmental management.

This edited collection explores how narratives about the future of the Arctic have been produced historically up until the present day. The contemporary deterministic and monolithic narrative is shown to be only one of several possible ways forward. This book problematizes the dominant prediction that there will be increased shipping and resource extraction as the ice melts and shows how this seemingly inevitable future has consequences for the action that can be taken in the present. This collection looks to historical projections about the future of the Arctic, evaluating why some voices have been heard and championed, while others remain marginalised. It questions how these historical perspectives have shaped resource allocation and governance structures to understand the forces behind change in the Arctic region. Considering the history of individuals and institutions, their political and economic networks and their perceived power, the essays in this collection offer new perspectives on how the future of the Arctic has been produced and communicated.