Forgotten Grasslands of the South

Forgotten Grasslands of the South PDF Author: Reed F. Noss
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 159726489X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Forgotten Grasslands of the South is the study of one of the biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. In a seamless blend of science and personal observation, renowned ecologist Reed Noss explains the natural history of southern grasslands, their origin and history, and the physical determinants of grassland distribution, including ecology, soils, landform, and hydrology. In addition to offering fascinating new information about these little-studied ecosystems, Noss demonstrates how natural history is central to the practice of conservation. Although theory and experimentation have recently dominated the field of ecology, ecologists are coming to realize how these distinct approaches are not divergent but complementary, and that pursuing them together can bring greater knowledge and understanding of how the natural world works and how we can best conserve it. This long-awaited work sets a new standard for scientific literature and is essential reading for those who study and work to conserve the grasslands of the South as well as for everyone who is fascinated by the natural world.

Forgotten Grasslands of the South

Forgotten Grasslands of the South PDF Author: Reed F. Noss
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 159726489X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Get Book Here

Book Description
Forgotten Grasslands of the South is the study of one of the biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. In a seamless blend of science and personal observation, renowned ecologist Reed Noss explains the natural history of southern grasslands, their origin and history, and the physical determinants of grassland distribution, including ecology, soils, landform, and hydrology. In addition to offering fascinating new information about these little-studied ecosystems, Noss demonstrates how natural history is central to the practice of conservation. Although theory and experimentation have recently dominated the field of ecology, ecologists are coming to realize how these distinct approaches are not divergent but complementary, and that pursuing them together can bring greater knowledge and understanding of how the natural world works and how we can best conserve it. This long-awaited work sets a new standard for scientific literature and is essential reading for those who study and work to conserve the grasslands of the South as well as for everyone who is fascinated by the natural world.

Forgotten Grasslands of the South

Forgotten Grasslands of the South PDF Author: Reed F. Noss
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 161091225X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Forgotten Grasslands of the South is a literary and scientific case study of some of the biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. Eminent ecologist Reed Noss tells the story of how southern grasslands arose and persisted over time and addresses questions that are fundamental for conserving these vital yet poorly understood ecosystems. The author examines: the natural history of southern grasslands their origin and history (geologic, vegetation, and human) biological hotspots and endangered ecosystems physical determinants of grassland distribution, including ecology, soils, landform, and hydrology fire, herbivores, and ecological interactions. The final chapter presents a general conservation strategy for southern grasslands, including prioritization, protection, restoration, and management. Also included are examples of ongoing restoration projects, along with a prognosis for the future. In addition to offering fascinating new information about these little-studied ecosystems, Noss demonstrates how natural history is central to the practice of conservation. Natural history has been on a declining trajectory for decades, as theory and experimentation have dominated the field of ecology. Ecologists are coming to realize that these divergent approaches are in fact complementary, and that pursuing them together can bring greater knowledge and understanding of how the natural world works and how we can best conserve it. Forgotten Grasslands of the South explores the overarching importance of ecological processes in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and is the first book of its kind to apply natural history, in a modern, comprehensive sense, to the conservation of biodiversity across a broad region. It sets a new standard for scientific literature and is essential reading not only for those who study and work to conserve the grasslands of the South but also for everyone who is fascinated by the natural world.

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of New Jersey

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of New Jersey PDF Author: Bruce E. Beans
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 9780813532097
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Description: The only comprehensive guide to New Jersey's most imperiled species

Saving the Wild South

Saving the Wild South PDF Author: Georgann Eubanks
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469664917
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
The American South is famous for its astonishingly rich biodiversity. In this book, Georgann Eubanks takes a wondrous trek from Alabama to North Carolina to search out native plants that are endangered and wavering on the edge of erasure. Even as she reveals the intricate beauty and biology of the South's plant life, she also shows how local development and global climate change are threatening many species, some of which have been graduated to the federal list of endangered species. Why should we care, Eubanks asks, about North Carolina's Yadkin River goldenrod, found only in one place on earth? Or the Alabama canebrake pitcher plant, a carnivorous marvel being decimated by criminal poaching and a booming black market? These plants, she argues, are important not only to the natural environment but also to southern identity, and she finds her inspiration in talking with the heroes the botanists, advocates, and conservationists young and old on a quest to save these green gifts of the South for future generations. These passionate plant lovers caution all of us not to take for granted the sensitive ecosystems that contribute to the region's long-standing appeal, beauty, and character.

Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain PDF Author: Reed F. Noss
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813056715
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"This book is the first to apply the new discipline of evolutionary fire ecology to a particular region: Florida and the southeastern coastal plain."--Publisher's description.

Career Opportunities in Conservation and the Environment

Career Opportunities in Conservation and the Environment PDF Author: Paul R. Greenland
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438110677
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Provides information on the duties, salaries, employment prospects, and skills, training, or education necessary for more than sixty-five jobs that focus on nature and the environment.

Great Plains

Great Plains PDF Author: Michael Forsberg
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022668167X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
The Great Plains were once among the greatest grasslands on the planet. But as the United States and Canada grew westward, the Plains were plowed up, fenced in, overgrazed, and otherwise degraded. Today, this fragmented landscape is the most endangered and least protected ecosystem in North America. But all is not lost on the prairie. Through lyrical photographs, essays, historical images, and maps, this beautifully illustrated book gets beneath the surface of the Plains, revealing the lingering wild that still survives and whose diverse natural communities, native creatures, migratory traditions, and natural systems together create one vast and extraordinary whole. Three broad geographic regions in Great Plains are covered in detail, evoked in the unforgettable and often haunting images taken by Michael Forsberg. Between the fall of 2005 and the winter of 2008, Forsberg traveled roughly 100,000 miles across 12 states and three provinces, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, to complete the photographic fieldwork for this project, underwritten by The Nature Conservancy. Complementing Forsberg’s images and firsthand accounts are essays by Great Plains scholar David Wishart and acclaimed writer Dan O’Brien. Each section of the book begins with a thorough overview by Wishart, while O’Brien—a wildlife biologist and rancher as well as a writer—uses his powerful literary voice to put the Great Plains into a human context, connecting their natural history with man’s uses and abuses. The Great Plains are a dynamic but often forgotten landscape—overlooked, undervalued, misunderstood, and in desperate need of conservation. This book helps lead the way forward, informing and inspiring readers to recognize the wild spirit and splendor of this irreplaceable part of the planet.

Water Quality

Water Quality PDF Author: Jim Perry
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444313657
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 655

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Book Description
Once a purely technical sub-discipline of hydrology, water quality management is now a social and political discipline, with concerns ranging from ensuring adequate health standards to preserving biological diversity and ecosystem integrity. This book goes beyond the technical manuals and specialty publications to provide support and guidance for the everyday decisions made by water-quality managers. Water Quality: Management of a Natural Resource addresses the rarely touched upon social, biophysical, land-use and policy considerations, which reflect the issues that confront managers and decision-makers. In a series of incisive reviews, experts address key topics in modern water resource management and case studies illustrate the successes and failures of past management efforts. Water Quality: Management of a Natural Resource develops and presents a management view requiring an awareness of: the social context of management, new ecological theories, and how policy is implemented in different situations and countries.

Bowerbirds

Bowerbirds PDF Author: Peter Rowland
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643094202
Category : Bowerbirds
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
The bowerbirds are famed for their unique bower-building behaviour which, in some species, can be a complex construction of sticks and other vegetable matter that can grow to two metres or so in diameter and about one and a half metres high. Many species are also accomplished mimics, and are able to copy the calls of other bird species, other natural and mechanical sounds and even human speech. These fascinating birds are confined to Australia and New Guinea and, due to the difficulty in accessing certain areas of their distribution, the study of their habits has been challenging. This book aims to condense the published knowledge acquired by ornithologists that have studied the bowerbirds since their discovery, and deliver it in a format suitable for natural history enthusiasts at any level.

Sea Level Rise in Florida

Sea Level Rise in Florida PDF Author: Albert C. Hine
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813062891
Category : Coast changes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This volume proposes to provide a concise, simple, well-illustrated book that explains past sea rise events, what scientists know about the present and future sea level rise, the consequences of rise, and how Floridians might prepare.