East Asia, with its large, fast-growing population and rapid industrialization, is an important area for global environmental problems, both in terms of the generation of greenhouse gases and the effects of any change in crop yields. The probable climate changes caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases and the modeling of plant production, vegetation distribution, phenological events, and lake ecosystems are discussed in this book. Besides providing an overview and synthesis of recent research, this volume shows the importance of analyzing local field data on microclimates, soil environments, the extent of snow cover, and the productivity of mountain vegetation. The possible effects of increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and rising temperatures on rice yield are shown from controlled environment experiments. This book will be particularly valuable to researchers and students in the fields of ecology, crop science, forestry, and environmental sciences as well as being of interest to anyone concerned with global environmental problems.

The ffiM Japan International Symposium Energy and Environment - Global Warming was held in the Keidanren Guesthouse at the foot of Mt. Fuji, from October 21 to 24, 1990. The symposium was conducted in the context of ffiM Japan's longstanding commitment to good corporate citizenship. On this beautiful planet with its inter-dependent waters, lands and atmo sphere, we consider that the problems relating to the global environment are the most serious that the human race will face in the near future. The symposium provided an opportunity for forty scientists and researchers, from a wide variety of international backgrounds, to address matters relating to the global environment in an international forum. Eighteen papers were presented followed by panel and group discussions, on which the concluding remarks and recommendations are based. We chose three types of papers to target different aspects of the condition of the global environment: the natural science component; the socio-economic component; and the energy component which links these two. On the first day the symposium began with a plenary speech by Dr. J. Kondo followed by three keynote speeches, each with a particular focus. The following day, six speakers offered papers relating to the previous day's keynote speeches."