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Ecotoxicology is a relatively new scientific discipline. Indeed, it
might be argued that it is only during the last 5-10 years that it
has come to merit being regarded as a true science, rather than a
collection of procedures for protecting the environment through
management and monitoring of pollutant discharges into the
environment. The term 'ecotoxicology' was first coined in the late
sixties by Prof. Truhaut, a toxicologist who had the vision to
recognize the importance of investigating the fate and effects of
chemicals in ecosystems. At that time, ecotoxicology was considered
a sub-discipline of medical toxicology. Subsequently, several
attempts have been made to portray ecotoxicology in a more
realistic light. Notably, both Moriarty (1988) and F. Ramade (1987)
emphasized in their books the broad basis of ecotoxicology,
encompassing chemical and radiation effects on all components of
ecosystems. In doing so, they and others have shifted concern from
direct chemical toxicity to humans, to the far more subtle effects
that pollutant chemicals exert on natural biota. Such effects
potentially threaten the existence of all life on earth. Although I
have identified the sixties as the era when ecotoxicology was first
conceived as a coherent subject area, it is important to
acknowledge that studies that would now be regarded as
ecotoxicological are much older.
Ecotoxicology is a relatively new scientific discipline. Indeed, it
might be argued that it is only during the last 5-10 years that it
has come to merit being regarded as a true science, rather than a
collection of procedures for protecting the environment through
management and monitoring of pollutant discharges into the
environment. The term 'ecotoxicology' was first coined in the late
sixties by Prof. Truhaut, a toxicologist who had the vision to
recognize the importance of investigating the fate and effects of
chemicals in ecosystems. At that time, ecotoxicology was considered
a sub-discipline of medical toxicology. Subsequently, several
attempts have been made to portray ecotoxicology in a more
realistic light. Notably, both Moriarty (1988) and F. Ramade (1987)
emphasized in their books the broad basis of ecotoxicology,
encompassing chemical and radiation effects on all components of
ecosystems. In doing so, they and others have shifted concern from
direct chemical toxicity to humans, to the far more subtle effects
that pollutant chemicals exert on natural biota. Such effects
potentially threaten the existence of all life on earth. Although I
have identified the sixties as the era when ecotoxicology was first
conceived as a coherent subject area, it is important to
acknowledge that studies that would now be regarded as
ecotoxicological are much older.
The rain forests of tropical America, Africa, Asia, and Australia are rapidly vanishing. With a focus on ecology, this book discusses rain forests as complex natural systems that are continually changing in response to climate and soil conditions, as well as to shifting cultivation, logging, and other human activities. The completely revised edition includes new chapters on climate (contributed by R.P.D. Walsh), microclimates and hydrology (contributed by R.P.D. Walsh), soils (contributed by I.C. Baillie) and an appendix on quantitative methods (contributed by P. Greig-Smith). This book, first published in 1952, is now a classic and represents an important record of what has become of the rain forest in the twentieth century and will be meaningful reading for botanists, ecologists, tropical biologists, conservationists, and general readers.
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