What potential problems does biodiversity loss create for humankind? What basis is there for biologists' concern about what has been described as the sixth mass extinction on our planet? The Biodiversity Programme of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Beijer Institute brought together eminent economists and ecologists to consider these and other questions about the nature and significance of the problem of biodiversity loss. This volume reports key findings from that programme. In encouraging collaborative interdisciplinary work between the closely related disciplines of economics and ecology, programme participants hoped to shed new light on the concept of diversity, the implications of biological diversity for the functioning of ecosystems, the driving forces behind biodiversity loss, and the options for promoting biodiversity conservation. The results of the programme are surprising. They indicate that the main costs of biodiversity loss may not be the loss of genetic material, but the loss of ecosystem resilience and the insurance it provides against the uncertain environmental effects of economic and population growth. Because this is as much a local as a global problem, biodiversity conservation offers both local and global benefits. Since the causes of biodiversity loss lie in the incentives to local users, that is where reform must begin if the problem is to be tackled successfully.

This volume IS one of a number of pubhcatlOns to carry the results of the flfSt research programme of the Royal Swedish Academy of SCience's BelJer Institute The Instltute was formed m 1991 m order to promote mterdlsclplmary research between natural and social sClentlsts on the mterdependency between economic and ecological systems In Its first research programme, the BlOdlverslty Programme, the Instltute brought together a number of leadmg economists and ecologists to address the theoretlcal and pohcy Issues associated with the current high rates of blOdlVefSlty loss m such systems - whether the result of direct depletlOn, the destructlOn of habitat, or speclahsatlOn m agnculture, forestry and flshenes ThiS volume reports some of the more pohcy-onented work carned out under the programme 1 The broad aim of the programme IS to further our understandmg of the causes and consequences of blOdlverslty loss, and to Identlfy the optlOns for addressmg the problem The results have turned out to be surpnsmg to those who see blOdlverslty loss pnmarlly III terms of the eroslOn of the genetlc hbrary In vanous ways the work carned out under the programme has already begun to alter our perceptlOn of where the problem m blOdlverslty loss hes and what pohcy optlOns are aVailable to deal with It Indeed, the programme has provided a powerful set of arguments for reappraISIng not Just the econormc and ecologlcallmplicatlOns of blOdlverslty loss, but the whole case for development based on speCIalisatlOn of resource use

This volume reports key findings of the Biodiversity Program of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Beijer Institute. The program brought together a number of eminent ecologists and economists to consider the nature and significance of the biodiversity problem. In encouraging collaborative work between these closely related disciplines it sought to shed new light on the concept of diversity; the implications of biological diversity for the functioning of ecosystems; the driving forces behind biodiversity loss; and the options for promoting biodiversity conservation. The results of the program are surprising. It is shown that the core of the biodiversity problem is a loss of ecosystem resilience and the insurance it provides against the uncertain environmental effects of economic and population growth. This is as much a local as a global problem, implying that biodiversity conservation offers benefits that are as much local as global. The solutions as well as the causes of biodiversity loss lie in incentives to local users.

The history of the Great Plains and the Santa Fe Trail is told in text and pictures by focusing on a cottonwood tree and the events that happen around it.

Following the publication of C. S. Holling's seminal work on the relationship between animal body mass patterns and scale-specific landscape structure, ecologists began to explore the theoretical and applied consequences of discontinuities in ecosystems and other complex systems. Are ecosystems and their components continuously distributed and do they adhere to scaling laws, or are they discontinuous and more complex than early models would have us believe? The resulting propositions over the structure of complex systems sparked an ongoing debate regarding the mechanisms generating discontinuities and the statistical methods used for their detection.

This volume takes the view that ecosystems and other complex systems are inherently discontinuous and that such fields as ecology, economics, and urban studies greatly benefit from this paradigm shift. Contributors present evidence of the ubiquity of discontinuous distributions in ecological and social systems and how their analysis provides insight into complex phenomena. The book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on background material and contrasting views concerning the discontinuous organization of complex systems. The second discusses discontinuous patterns detected in a number of different systems and methods for detecting them, and the third touches on the potential significance of discontinuities in complex systems. Science is still dominated by a focus on power laws, but the contributors to this volume are convinced power laws often mask the interesting dynamics of systems and that those dynamics are best revealed by investigating deviations from assumed power law distributions.

In 2008, a grand conferenceon resilience was held in Stockholm, hosting 600 participants from around the world. There are now three big centers established with resilience, the most recent one being the Stockholm Resilience Center, with others in Australia (an international coral reef center), Arizona State University's new sustainability center focusing on anthropology, and Canada's emerging social sciences and resilience center. Activity continues to flourish in Alaska, South Africa, and the Untied Kingdom, and a new center is forming in Uruguay.

A young Indian boy carves a little canoe with a figure inside and names him Paddle-to-the-Sea. Paddle's journey, in text and pictures, through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean provides an excellent geographic and historical picture of the region.

Creating institutions to meet the challenge of sustainability is arguably the most important task confronting society; it is also dauntingly complex. Ecological, economic, and social elements all play a role, but despite ongoing efforts, researchers have yet to succeed in integrating the various disciplines in a way that gives adequate representation to the insights of each."Panarchy," a term devised to describe evolving hierarchical systems with multiple interrelated elements, offers an important new framework for understanding and resolving this dilemma. Panarchy is the structure in which systems, including those of nature (e.g., forests) and of humans (e.g., capitalism), as well as combined human-natural systems (e.g., institutions that govern natural resource use such as the Forest Service), are interlinked in continual adaptive cycles of growth, accumulation, restructuring, and renewal. These transformational cycles take place at scales ranging from a drop of water to the biosphere, over periods from days to geologic epochs. By understanding these cycles and their scales, researchers can identify the points at which a system is capable of accepting positive change, and can use those leverage points to foster resilience and sustainability within the system.This volume brings together leading thinkers on the subject -- including Fikret Berkes, Buz Brock, Steve Carpenter, Carl Folke, Lance Gunderson, C.S. Holling, Don Ludwig, Karl-Goran Maler, Charles Perrings, Marten Scheffer, Brian Walker, and Frances Westley -- to develop and examine the concept of panarchy and to consider how it can be applied to human, natural, and human-natural systems. Throughout, contributors seek to identifyadaptive approaches to management that recognize uncertainty and encourage innovation while fostering resilience.The book is a fundamental new development in a widely acclaimed line of inquiry. It represents the first step in integrating disciplinary knowledge for the adaptive management of human-natural systems across widely divergent scales, and offers an important base of knowledge from which institutions for adaptive management can be developed. It will be an invaluable source of ideas and understanding for students, researchers, and professionals involved with ecology, conservation biology, ecological economics, environmental policy, or related fields.

Following the publication of C. S. Holling's seminal work on the relationship between animal body mass patterns and scale-specific landscape structure, ecologists began to explore the theoretical and applied consequences of discontinuities in ecosystems and other complex systems. Are ecosystems and their components continuously distributed and do they adhere to scaling laws, or are they discontinuous and more complex than early models would have us believe? The resulting propositions over the structure of complex systems sparked an ongoing debate regarding the mechanisms generating discontinuities and the statistical methods used for their detection.

This volume takes the view that ecosystems and other complex systems are inherently discontinuous and that such fields as ecology, economics, and urban studies greatly benefit from this paradigm shift. Contributors present evidence of the ubiquity of discontinuous distributions in ecological and social systems and how their analysis provides insight into complex phenomena. The book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on background material and contrasting views concerning the discontinuous organization of complex systems. The second discusses discontinuous patterns detected in a number of different systems and methods for detecting them, and the third touches on the potential significance of discontinuities in complex systems. Science is still dominated by a focus on power laws, but the contributors to this volume are convinced power laws often mask the interesting dynamics of systems and that those dynamics are best revealed by investigating deviations from assumed power law distributions.

In 2008, a grand conferenceon resilience was held in Stockholm, hosting 600 participants from around the world. There are now three big centers established with resilience, the most recent one being the Stockholm Resilience Center, with others in Australia (an international coral reef center), Arizona State University's new sustainability center focusing on anthropology, and Canada's emerging social sciences and resilience center. Activity continues to flourish in Alaska, South Africa, and the Untied Kingdom, and a new center is forming in Uruguay.

The history of America at sea is presented through the travels of Seabird, a carved ivory gull.

'Panarchy' is a new term coined from the name of the Greek god Pan, a symbol of universal nature and associated with unpredictable change. It represents an alternative framework for managing the issues that emerge from the interaction between people and nature. That interaction generates countless surprises, often the result of slow changes that can accumulate and unexpectedly flip an ecosystem or an economy into a qualitatively different state. That state may be not only impoverished, but also effectively irreversible. Thus, understanding how such change occurs is critical to achieving a sustainable society. Developed from the work of the Resilience Alliance, a worldwide group of leading organizations and individuals involved in ecological and economic research, Panarchy provides a framework to understand the cycles of change in complex systems and to gauge if, when, and how they can be influenced. This synopsis introduces lay readers and decision makers to this widely acclaimed line of inquiry and to the basic concept behind Panarchy, published by Island Press.

The history of the Mississippi River Valley is told in text and pictures through the adventures of Minn, a snapping turtle, as she travels downstream.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1891 Edition.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

This book, originally published in 1978, develops an adaptive approach to environmental impact assessment and management and is based on a study initiated by a workshop convened in early 1974 by SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment). CS Holling discusses the nature and behavior of ecological systems and its issues, limitations, and potential of environmental assessment. Further, he discusses the various methods of environmental impact assessment as a guide to the design of new environmental development and management projects. This approach surveys the features of the environment likely to be affected by the developments under consideration, analyses the information collected, tries to predict the impact of these developments and lays down guidelines or rules for their management. This book is concerned with practical problems, e.g. development in Canada, the management of fisheries, pest control, etc. It is devoted to a general understanding of the environmental systems through methods that have worked in the real world with its many certanties. It does not reject the idea of environmental impact analysis but rather stresses the need for fundamental understanding of the structure and dynamics of ecosystems. Crawford Holling received his B.A. and M.Sc. at the University of Toronto (1952) and his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia (1957). He worked in the laboratories of the Department of the Environment, Government of Canada. Since then, he has been, at various times, Professor and Director of the Institute of Resource Ecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Vienna, Austria. He now occupies the Arthur R. Marshall Jr. Chair in Ecological Sciences at the University of Florida and has launched a comparative study of the structure and dynamics of ecosystems.

This title presents the evolution of resilience theory in seminal papers and commentary. Ecological resilience provides a theoretical foundation for understanding how complex systems adapt to and recover from localized disturbances like hurricanes, fires, pest outbreaks, and floods, as well as large-scale perturbations such as climate change. Ecologists have developed resilience theory over the past three decades in an effort to explain surprising and nonlinear dynamics of complex adaptive systems. Resilience theory is especially important to environmental scientists for its role in underpinning adaptive management approaches to ecosystem and resource management. "Foundations of Ecological Resilience" is a collection of the most important articles on the subject of ecological resilience - those writings that have defined and developed basic concepts in the field and help explain its importance and meaning for scientists and researchers. The book's three sections cover articles that have shaped or defined the concepts and theories of resilience, including key papers that broke new conceptual ground and contributed novel ideas to the field; examples that demonstrate ecological resilience in a range of ecosystems; and, articles that present practical methods for understanding and managing nonlinear ecosystem dynamics. "Foundations of Ecological Resilience" is an important contribution to our collective understanding of resilience and an invaluable resource for students and scholars in ecology, wildlife ecology, conservation biology, sustainability, environmental science, public policy, and related fields.