The treetops of the world's forests are where discovery and opportunity abound, however they have been relatively inaccessible until recently. This book represents an authoritative synthesis of data, anecdotes, case studies, observations, and recommendations from researchers and educators who have risked life and limb in their advocacy of the High Frontier. With innovative rope techniques, cranes, walkways, dirigibles, and towers, they finally gained access to the rich biodiversity that lives far above the forest floor and the emerging science of canopy ecology. In this new edition of Forest Canopies, nearly 60 scientists and educators from around the world look at the biodiversity, ecology, evolution, and conservation of forest canopy ecosystems.
-Comprehensive literature list
-State-of-the-art results and data sets from current field work
-Foremost scientists in the field of canopy ecology
-Expanded collaboration of researchers and international projects
-User-friendly format with sidebars and case studies
-Keywords and outlines for each chapter

Freezing and thawing of soils is a common phenomenon in the winter-cold zone. The thesis titled "Material Cycling of Wetland Soils Driven by Freeze-Thaw Effects" systematically explores the freeze-thaw effects on the accumulation and release processes of carbon and nitrogen in wetland soils, which is a good step toward the investigation of biogeochemical processes in wetlands in seasonal freeze-thaw areas. It is also developing strategies aimed at global warming effects on the accumulation and release of carbon and nitrogen in wetlands. Dr. Xiaofei Yu works at the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

'Mountains have given structure to my adult life. I suppose they have also given me purpose, though I still can't guess what that purpose might be. And although I have glimpsed the view from the mountaintop and I still have some memory of what direction life is meant to be going in, I usually lose sight of the wood for the trees. In other words, I, like most of us, have lived a life of structured chaos.' Structured Chaos is Victor Saunders' award-winning follow-up to Elusive Summits (winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize in 1990), No Place to Fall and Himalaya: The Tribulations of Vic & Mick. He reflects on his early childhood in Malaya and his first experiences of climbing as a student, and describes his progression from scaling canal-side walls in Camden to expeditions in the Himalaya and Karakoram. Following climbs on K2 and Nanga Parbat, he leaves his career as an architect and moves to Chamonix to become a mountain guide. He later makes the first ascent of Chamshen in the Saser Kangri massif, and reunites with old friend Mick Fowler to climb the north face of Sersank. This is not just a tale of mountaineering triumphs, but also an account of rescues, tragedies and failures. Telling his story with humour and warmth, Saunders spans the decades from youthful awkwardness to concerns about age-related forgetfulness, ranging from 'Where did I put my keys?' to 'Is this the right mountain?' Structured Chaos is a testament to the value of friendship and the things that really matter in life: being in the right place at the right time with the right people, and making the most of the view.

Understanding Soils of Mountainous Landscapes: Sustainable Use of Soil Ecosystem Services and Management focuses on the patterns and processes of mountainous soils, including threats due to the fragile nature of mountain ecosystems, and the conservation and management of soil ecosystem services and restoration processes. The book covers a balanced approach to land and resource management, ensuring that environmentally and socio-culturally sound interventions are developed and applied in the complex geophysical, ecological, and social landscapes of the world's mountain systems. The book provides holistic understanding of mountain soils to help environmental and soil scientists gain insight and develop new problem-solving approaches. With obvious up- and downstream linkages (e.g., a large proportion of urban canters globally depend on water that originates in the mountains) as well as globalization (e.g., continental-scale impacts of air pollution and climate change on glaciers), the long-range success of conservation measures in mountain regions requires that the following discrete but interconnected interventions be pursued concurrently: (1) the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services, (2) empowerment of mountain communities (including family farming), and (3) elaboration of more thoughtful, context-specific policy environments for sustainable mountain development.

This book focuses on essential theories, methods and techniques in the field of environmental and engineering geophysics that can contribute to resource detection and environmental protection. Geophysics has been playing an important role in exploring the earth, locating vital resources and promoting the development of society. This book covers a range of topics including the exploration of modern resources, such as ore deposits, coal mines, shale gas and geothermal power, and the monitoring of geological disasters, including the rock-soil body, ground deformation, mines, specific rock-soil engineering disasters, desertification of land and environmental abnormalities. This book not only offers a valuable resource for geophysical researchers; it also demonstrates how geophysics theories and methods can be practically implemented to protect our environment and promote the development of human society.

My interest in the behaviour and movements of birds of arid and semi-arid ecosystems began when my wife, Sue Milton, and I were Roy Siegfried, Director, at that time, of the Percy approached by Prof. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, to set up a project to investigate granivory in the South African Karoo. Sue and I spent some time finding a suitable study site, setting up accommodations and an automatic weather station at Tierberg, in the southern Karoo near the village of Prince Albert, and planning projects. Among our first projects was a transect where we noted plant phe nology, measured seed densities on the soil surface, counted birds, observed ant activity, measured soil surface temperatures and col lected whatever climate data we could at 40 sites along a 200-km oval route. Along the way, we became interested in the marked presence and absence of birds at certain sites - abundant birds one day, and very few birds at the same site a month later. Subsequent counts along fixed transects through shrublands confirmed that a number of bird species were highly nomadic over short and long distances, locally and regionally, leading to speculation on how widespread these movements were in the arid ecosystems of the world."

This work examines the valley of the Urubamba River in terms of vertical zonation, Incan impact on the environment, plant use, the history of exploration and the notion of discovery, the idea of land reform, and cultural contact with the European world. Winding its path northward from the Andean Highlands to the Amazon, the valley has served as the stage of pre-Columbian civilizations and focal point of Spanish conquest in Peru. "Gade left behind not only a superb body of scholarly work, but a network of colleagues and students who remain indebted to his example. This book should serve as an inspiration for all scholars who wish to pursue the Sauerian, counter enlightenment or post development agendas of understanding and respecting particular places in all their historical and cultural complexity, including ambiguities and contradictions." -- The Geographical Review, American Geographical Society

This book focuses on the phenomenon of sediment erosion and resuspension in the Yellow River delta, China, which is a vital issue involved in understanding the sediment transport processes in estuarine and coastal environments, and how these contribute to the nature and distribution of geohazards in the subaqueous Yellow River delta and Bohai Sea. The most important sections of this book will be the detailed physical mechanisms and theoretical models of sediment erosion and resuspension problem fully considering the wave-induced seabed dynamic response to waves, which are particularly useful for postgraduate students and junior researchers entering the discipline of estuary and coastal sedimentation, marine geotechnical engineering, estuary and coastal engineering, harbor and waterway engineering and coastal environmental protection. This book can also serve as a textbook for advanced graduate students of Marine Engineering Geology and Estuarine Sediment Dynamics.

This book answers the call for New Urbanization, and proposes a "5+9+6" national spatial layout plan for the urbanization of the 770 major cities in China. This macro pattern is based on a few major metropolises at the center, and other cities supporting and benefitting from these metropolises to form a pyramid-like urban hierarchical system. The book also presents a comprehensive regionalization plan for China's New Urbanization and strategic approaches to improving the quality of this New Urbanization. Currently, China is aggressively promoting a so-called New Urbanization, which has been regarded as one of the primary ways to build a moderately prosperous society, to address critical issues related to agriculture, rural regions and farmers, to expand domestic demand and promote industrial innovation, and to realize the China Dream. From a systematic perspective and using recently released urban data, the authors analyze the current status of New Urbanization in China and also investigate the various potential problems and obstacles to its concrete implementation. Based on the analyses and investigations, the authors propose strategic directions, paths and basic principles for China's New Urbanization. In addition, they clearly identify the three different modes of New Urbanization, namely, the general mode, differentiated mode, and gradual mode. Today, many scholars argue that China's urban regions are experiencing a highly unsustainable mode of development. Chinese cities are heavily burdened by the so-called "urban diseases," which are characterized e.g. by congested traffic, polluted water and air, and a lack of open and green spaces. Traditional urbanization, which primarily focuses on economic development, must be fundamentally reformed. New Urbanization, which focuses on integrated economic development, social integration and space/environmental sustainability, or simply put, on the quality of urbanization, has been called for to provide a potential "cure" for these urban diseases. Due to the vastness of China's population and its rapidly growing economic, political and cultural relationships with the rest of the world, the book demonstrates that the success of this New Urbanization is critical not only to the future of urban China, but also the future of urbanization worldwide. The book offers a valuable reference work for all researchers, graduate student and policy makers interested in China's urban development.

Contemporary Human Geography shows what geographers actually do, how they conduct research, develop new insights, teach us about the world from a geographer's perspective, and apply their skills in a wide range of academic and professional pursuits. With each chapter organized by five themes (region, mobility, globalization, nature-culture, cultural landscape), Contemporary Human Geography introduces students to geography concepts through fascinating topics such as the distribution of college sports, the relationship of beauty pageants and cultural identity, texting and language modification, and more, continually reinforcing geographers' contributions to our understanding of how we live in a globalized, modern world. The authors frame this coverage using specific learning objectives to help students focus on essential concepts and prepare for class discussions, assignments, and exams. Contemporary Human Geography is now supported in Achieve, Macmillan's new online learning platform. Achieve is the culmination of years of development work put toward creating the most powerful online learning tool for Geography students. It houses all of our renowned assessments, multimedia assets, e-books, and instructor resources in a powerful new platform.

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.

Interweaving the human aspects of river control with analysis of hydro-physical data, including historical data over the last few centuries, this monograph is a comprehensive evaluation of the Damodar s lower reaches. While the Damodar River isn t an exceptional tropical river, nor does it feature classic examples of river control structures, it is unusual and worthy of study due to the fact that nowhere else in the tropical world have riverine sandbars been used as a resource base as well as for permanent settlements. Based on their knowledge of river stages, the inhabitants have fine-tuned their land use to flood events, applying a concept of flood zoning to the riverbed. Every available space has been utilized rationally and judiciously.

This rare human-environmental study analyzes the remarkable way in which immigrants unfamiliar with the riverine environment have adapted to the altered hydrologic regime of the river. In doing so they have demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the flood regime and the vagaries of an unpromising environment in their land use, cropping and settlement patterns. Spurred on by restricted social and economic mobility and sometimes political constraints, these self-settled refugees have learned to adapt to their environment and live with the floods.

Bhattacharyya s text is particularly timely, as anthropogenic processes of this kind have not been adequately studied by geographers."

Mass movement of rocks in high mountains can severely injure the population and damage man-made structures in these areas. This book focuses on the understanding of the mechanisms of rockslides and rockfalls using a quantitative approach. The range and velocity of these hazards are calculated to serve as a basis for evacuations and other preventive measures. Examples from four continents illustrate the necessity of this kind of information. The book contains a wealth of information for practitioners and scientists working in the field of catastrophe prevention.

This work assesses the issues facing biodiversity maintenance on tropical islands, and the impacts of biodiversity loss. The emphasis is on the Indo-West Pacific region, which includes many small islands where the biodiversity is under threat as a result of not only climate change and habitat destruction, but invasions by organisms previously absent from an island. The contributors are distinguished biodiversity scientists from inside and outside the region, and cover topics ranging from the state of conservation action in South-East Asia, the role of parks, and the status and threat to endemics, to impacts of oil and gas exploration and forest fragmentation. Issues needing still to be addressed, especially in relation to implications of biodiversity loss or change for the maintenance of ecosystem processes, are highlighted. The conclusions and case studies have lessons for all involved in the conservation of the biotas and ecosystems of islands. Previously published in Biodiversity and Conservation 19:2 2010

This book offers an extensive study of indigenous communities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and their methods of forest conservation, along with an exploration of the impact of forestry operations in the islands and the wide scale damage they have incurred on both the land and the people. Through an in-depth analysis of the contrasting indigenous practices and governmental forestry schemes, the author has compared the modern 'Joint Forest Management' resolution with the ethos and practices of the indigenous people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Throughout the book, readers will learn about the different indigenous communities inhabiting these islands and the treasure of knowledge each of them provide on forest conservation. The book establishes that the notion of knowledge is politicized by the dominant culture in the context of Andaman's forest tribes, and traces how this denial of the existence of indigenous knowledge by government officials has led to reduced forest area in the region. The book also explores and analyses strategies to utilize and conserve the tribes' profound knowledge of the biodiversity of the islands and study their efforts towards forest conservation, protection and rejuvenation.

An entertaining and enthralling collection of myths, tales and traditions surrounding our trees, woodlands and forests from around the world.From the dark, gnarled woodlands of the north, to the humid jungles of the southern lands, trees have captured humanity's imagination for millennia. Filled with primal gods and goddesses, dryads and the fairy tales of old, the forests still beckon to us, offering sanctuary, mystery and more than a little mischievous trickery. From insatiable cannibalistic children hewn from logs, to lumberjack lore, and the spine-chilling legend of Bloody Mary, there is much to be found between the branches. Come into the trees; witches, seductive spirits and big, bad wolves await you.With this book, Folklore Thursday aim to encourage a sense of belonging across all cultures by showing how much we all have in common.

This international rigorously peer-reviewed volume critically synthesizes current knowledge in forest hydrology and biogeochemistry. It is a one-stop comprehensive reference tool for researchers and practitioners in the fields of hydrology, biogeoscience, ecology, forestry, boundary-layer meteorology, and geography. Following an introductory chapter tracing the historical roots of the subject, the book is divided into the following main sections:

. Sampling and Novel Approaches

. Forest Hydrology and Biogeochemistry by Ecoregion and Forest Type

. Hydrologic and Biogeochemical Fluxes from the Canopy to the Phreatic Surface

. Hydrologic and Biogeochemical Fluxes in Forest Ecosystems: Effects of Time, Stressors, and Humans

The volume concludes with a final chapter that reflects on the current state of knowledge and identifies some areas in need of further research.

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Since the computing revolution, modelling has become the most important way in which we further our knowledge about how the sea moves and how the processes in the sea operate. The coast and the continental shelf are two of the most important areas of the sea to understand. Coastal and Shelf Sea Modelling is therefore very timely and important. In this text, modelling the processes that occur in the sea is motivated continually through real life examples. Sometimes these are incorporated naturally within the text, but there are also a number of case studies taken from the recent research literature. These will be particularly valuable to students as they are presented in a style more readily accessible than that found in a typical research journal. The motivation for modelling is care for the environment. The well publicised problem of global warming, the phenomenon of El Nino, more localised pollution scares caused by tanker accidents and even smaller scale coastal erosion caused by storms all provide motivation for modelling and all get coverage in this text. Particularly novel features of the book include a systematic treatment of the modelling process in a marine context, the inclusion of diffusion in some detail, ecosystems modelling and a brief foray into wave prediction. The final chapter provides the reader with the opportunity to do some modelling; there are many worked examples followed by exercises that readers can try themselves. All answers are provided. Throughout, the style is informal and the technicalities in term of mathematics are kept to a minimum. Coastal and Shelf Sea Modelling is particularly suitable for graduate marine and oceanographic modelling courses, but will also prove useful to coastal engineers and students at any level interested in the quantitative modelling of marine processes. It is stressed that only a minimal level of mathematics (first year calculus or less) is required; the style and content is introductory.

Submarine mass movements represent major offshore geohazards due to their destructive and tsunami-generation potential. This potential poses a threat to human life as well as to coastal, nearshore and offshore engineering structures. Recent examples of catastrophic submarine landslide events that affected human populations (including tsunamis) are numerous; e.g., Nice airport in 1979, Papua-New Guinea in 1998, Stromboli in 2002, Finneidfjord in 1996, and the 2006 and 2009 failures in the submarine cable network around Taiwan. The Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 also generated submarine landslides that may have amplified effects of the devastating tsunami. Given that 30% of the World 's population live within 60 km of the coast, the hazard posed by submarine landslides is expected to grow as global sea level rises. This elevated awareness of the need for better understanding of underwater landslides is coupled with great advances in underwater mapping, sampling and monitoring technologies, laboratory analogue and numerical modeling capabilities developed over the past two decades. Multibeam sonar, 3D seismic reflection, and remote and autonomous underwater vehicle technologies provide hitherto unparalleled imagery of the geology beneath the oceans, permitting investigation of submarine landslide deposits in great detail. Increased and new access to drilling, coring, in situ measurements and monitoring devices allows for ground-thruthing geophysical data, provides access to samples for geotechnical laboratory experiments and unprecedented in situ information on strength and effective stress conditions of underwater slopes susceptible to fail. Great advances in numerical simulation of submarine landslide kinematics and tsunami propagation, particularly since the 2004 Sumatra tsunami, have also lead to increased understanding and predictability of submarine landslide consequences.
This volume consists of the latest scientific research by international experts in geological, geophysical, engineering and environmental aspects of submarine mass failure, focused on understanding the full spectrum of challenges presented by submarine mass movements and their consequences.

This book discusses a range of planning and management issues related to building urban resiliency. It covers such topics as urban, environmental, and transportation planning, historical preservation, emergency relief and management, geographic information systems (GIS) and other technological applications. The book includes case studies of several cities and districts in China, including Shanghai, and a number of cities in the United States of America. Urban resiliency in the face of uncertainty is a priority for planning and governance in communities worldwide. In China, which has suffered many of the world's most devastating floods, earthquakes, and typhoons, preparing for the threat of disaster has long been an important planning objective. Recent calamities, such as the 2008 Winter Storms, the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, and the 2012 Beijing Floods have only made planning for resiliency more urgent. As planners work to prepare for such events, interdisciplinary collaboration becomes increasingly important. Planners need the tools and insights offered by other fields, including both the natural and social sciences. At the same time, these interdisciplinary relationships help shape the identity of urban-rural planning in its new role as one of China's primary academic disciplines. Thus, the nexus between planning and science is critically important in building resilient cities in China, and the Chinese planning experience can serve as an example to and benefit countries around the world.

An expert on the buffalo tells the history of this keystone species through extensive research and beautiful photographs. The mere mention of the buffalo instantly brings to mind the vast herds that once roamed the North American continent, and few wild animals captivate our imaginations as much as the buffalo do. Once numbering in the tens of millions, these magnificent creatures played a significant role in structuring the varied ecosystems they occupied. For at least 24,000 years, North American Indigenous Peoples depended upon them, and it was the abundance of buffalo that initially facilitated the dispersal of humankind across the continent. With the arrival of Europeans and their rapacious capacity for wildlife destruction, the buffalo was all but exterminated. In a span of just thirty years during the mid-1800s, buffalo populations plummeted from more than 30 million to just twenty-three. And with them went all of the intricate food webs, the trophic cascades, and the inter-species relationships that had evolved over thousands of years. Despite this brush with extinction, the buffalo survived, and isolated populations are slowly recovering. As this recovery proceeds, the relationships the animals once had with thousands of species are being re-established in a remarkable process of ecological healing. The intricacy of those restored relationships is the subject of this book. Based on author Wes Olson's thirty-five years of working intimately with bison-and featuring 180 stunning, full-colour photographs by Johane Janelle- The Ecological Buffalo is a story that takes the reader on a journey to understand the myriad connections this keystone species has with the Great Plains.

Enclosed ecosystem experiments have gained in popularity as research tools in ecological science, particularly in the study of coastal aquatic environments. These systems provide scientists with a degree of experimental control that is not achievable through field experiments. Yet to date, techniques for systematically extrapolating results from small-scale experimental ecosystems to larger, deeper, more open, more biologically diverse, and more heterogeneous ecosystems in nature have not been well developed. Likewise, researchers have lacked methods for comparing and extrapolating information among natural ecosystems that differ in scale. Enclosed Experimental Ecosystems and Scale: Tools for Understanding and Managing Coastal Ecosystems provides scientists, managers, and policy makers with an introduction to what has been termed the "problem of scale", and presents information that will allow for improved design and interpretation of enclosed experimental aquatic ecosystems. The book integrates the results of a 10-year research project involving a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and students to explore scale-related questions in a variety of coastal habitats. Anticipating use as a reference, the book has been designed so that individual sections and individual pages can function as stand alone units.

Plant geographical description of the area, syntaxonomy, spatial patterns, floristic richness, structure of plant communities in relation to soil properties and herbivore influence were described for a mountain region that is difficult to access. Seasonal, inter-annual, and long-term dynamics of vegetation are discussed on the base of long-term observations as well as pollen and phytolith analyses. Population biology of alpine plants is studied by combination of field observations and mathematical modelling. Plant population strategies and soil seed banks are described for alpine plants from several communities. Results of long-term ecological experiments (plant reciprocal transplantations, dominant removals, light limitation) showed the significance of competition and facilitation for community organization. Structure of soil algal and fungal communities is represented as well as mycorrhiza of alpine plants. Main animal groups (wild) history and modern nature conservation problems are discussed.

leading to an overall decrease in the world's forest cover. The forests of Asia, in particular, have been strongly impacted. A number of initiatives have suggested forest policy reforms, and the need for the sustainable management of forests has been widely recognized and encouraged. But because implementation of reforms at the local level has been insufficient, it is imperative that local people begin to effectively participate in forest planning and management as well as in protected-area management. The Forest Conservation Project, launched in April 1998 by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), has carried out research activities on forest strategies, including policy analysis and on-site surveys. This book gives an overview of the project's research activities in its first three-year phase (April1998-March 2001). Since viable forest strategies work best when based on the involvement of local people, this report is addressed to stakeholders in the communities of the relevant countries, including local people and authorities, community-based organizations, experts, national agencies, and international institutions.