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Author: Walter G. Whitford
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0081026552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 476
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Book Description
Nearly one-third of the land area on our planet is classified as arid or desert. Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of such arid ecosystems is essential to managing those systems in a way that sustains human populations. This second edition of Ecology of Desert Systems provides a clear, extensive guide to the complex interactions involved in these areas. This book details the relationships between abiotic and biotic environments of desert ecosystems, demonstrating to readers how these interactions drive ecological processes. These include plant growth and animal reproductive success, the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation and animals, and the influence of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change specific to arid systems. Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert authors, Ecology of Desert Systems is an essential guide to arid ecosystems for students looking for an overview of the field, researchers keen to learn how their work fits in to the overall picture, and those involved with environmental management of desert areas. - Highlights the complexity of global desert systems in a clear, concise way - Reviews the most current issues facing researchers in the field, including the spread of invasive species due to globalized trade, the impact of industrial mining, and climate change - Updated and extended to include information on invasive species management, industrial mining impacts, and the current and future role of climate change in desert systems
Author: Walter G. Whitford
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0081026552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 476
Get Book Here
Book Description
Nearly one-third of the land area on our planet is classified as arid or desert. Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of such arid ecosystems is essential to managing those systems in a way that sustains human populations. This second edition of Ecology of Desert Systems provides a clear, extensive guide to the complex interactions involved in these areas. This book details the relationships between abiotic and biotic environments of desert ecosystems, demonstrating to readers how these interactions drive ecological processes. These include plant growth and animal reproductive success, the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation and animals, and the influence of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change specific to arid systems. Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert authors, Ecology of Desert Systems is an essential guide to arid ecosystems for students looking for an overview of the field, researchers keen to learn how their work fits in to the overall picture, and those involved with environmental management of desert areas. - Highlights the complexity of global desert systems in a clear, concise way - Reviews the most current issues facing researchers in the field, including the spread of invasive species due to globalized trade, the impact of industrial mining, and climate change - Updated and extended to include information on invasive species management, industrial mining impacts, and the current and future role of climate change in desert systems
Author: John L. Cloudsley-Thompson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642609775
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214
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Book Description
The exigencies of life in the desert environment have resulted in the se lection of a diversity of adaptations, both morphological and physiologi cal, in the flora and fauna. At the same time, many plants and most small animals are able not merely to exist but even to thrive under desert conditions - mainly by avoiding thermal extremes and by the refine ment of pre-existing abilities to economise in water. In the same way, the biotic interactions of the flora and fauna of the desert do not involve many new principles. Nevertheless, conditions in arid regions frequently do invoke refinements of the complex interrelations between predators and their prey, parasites and their hosts, as well as between herbivores and the plants upon which they feed. In this book, I shall discuss not only such interactions and their feedback effects, but also community processes and population dynamics in the desert. The physical conditions of the desert that principally affect predators and their prey are its openness and the paucity of cover. This is re stricted to scattered plants, occasional rocks, holes, and crevices in the ground. Furthermore, nightfall does not confer relative invisibility, as it does in many other ecobiomes, because of the clarity of the atmosphere. The bright starlight of the desert renders nearby objects visible even to the human eye, while an incandescent moon bathes the empty landscape with a flood of silver light. Consequently, adaptive coloration is func tional at all hours of the day and night.
Author: Blaire Steven
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110419149
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 329
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Book Description
Soils have been called the most complex microbial ecosystems on Earth. A single gram of soil can harbor millions of microbial cells and thousands of species. However, certain soil environments, such as those experiencing dramatic change exposing new initial soils or that are limited in precipitation, limit the number of species able to survive in these systems. In this respect, these environments offer unparalleled opportunities to uncover the factors that control the development and maintenance of complex microbial ecosystems. This book collects chapters that discuss the abiotic factors that structure arid and initial soil communities as well as the diversity and structure of the biological communities in these soils from viruses to plants.
Author: Ragan M. Callaway
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402062249
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 419
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Book Description
This book marshals ecological literature from the last century on facilitation to make the case against the widely accepted individualistic notion of community organization. It examines the idea that positive interactions are more prevalent in physically stressful conditions. Coverage also includes species specificity in facilitative interactions, indirect facilitative interactions, and potential evolutionary aspects of positive interactions.
Author: T. W. Hoekstra
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252067174
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 298
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Book Description
Offers various directions for both research and management.
Author: Thorsten Wiegand
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420082558
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 525
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Book Description
Understand How to Analyze and Interpret Information in Ecological Point PatternsAlthough numerous statistical methods for analyzing spatial point patterns have been available for several decades, they haven't been extensively applied in an ecological context. Addressing this gap, Handbook of Spatial Point-Pattern Analysis in Ecology shows how the t
Author: David J. Tongway
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780387988399
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
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Book Description
Aerial photography has revealed the striking, widespread phenomenon of repeating patterns of vegetation in more arid areas of the world. Two interdependent phases, bands of dense and sparse vegetation, alternate in the landscape. This volume synthesizes half a century's accumulated knowledge of both theoretical and applied landscape function from a variety of these regions. It covers structure, dynamics, and methods of study, as well as disturbances to these landscapes and relevant management issues. Various chapters discuss the role of modeling in answering questions about the origins and complex processes of banded landscapes.
Author: Francisco Pugnaire
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439859272
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
Ever since the concept of the "struggle for life" became the heart of Darwin's theory of evolution, biologists have studied the relevance of interactions for the natural history and evolution of organisms. Although positive interactions among plants have traditionally received little attention, there is now a growing body of evidence showing the ef
Author: Monier M. Abd El-Ghani
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319591355
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 601
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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive discussion on plant responses in hyperarid regions of Egypt, China, Mexico, and Pakistan. It describes their location, physiographic features, accidental vegetation along two transects, endangered vegetation species, human impact, and variety of plant types (e.g. climbing, succulent, and parasitic). Studies on biotic and abiotic interactions, plant biodiversity, and soil-plant relationships are also covered. Covering a wide range of plant conditions and adaptations, this book analyzes what happens when plants must endure very high temperatures and aridity. Plants have adapted by evolving their physical structure to store and conserve water. Examples are the absence of leaves which reduces transpiration and the growth of extremely long roots, allowing them to acquire moisture at, or near the water table. Plants in hyperarid habitats have also made behavioral adaptations in order to survive by synchronizing with the seasons of greatest moisture and/or coolest temperatures. For example, desert perennials remain dormant during dry periods of the year, then spring to life when water becomes available. The book includes many color illustrations, and has extensive and up-to-date references for further reading.
Author: Joseph Seckbach
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048193168
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 509
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Book Description
This new book takes us through a journey from early life to modern agriculture. The thirty eight authors present current studies on the interrelation of plants-animals. This topic has always fascinated man, as evidenced even by the first chapters of Genesis. The world of aqueous and terrestrial fauna appeared on early earth only after the flora covered the areas with the green pigmentation. Almost all life depends upon sunlight via the photosynthesis of the botanical world. We read abut the harnessing of bee pollination of crops to make it an essential component of modern agriculture endeavor. Some plants seduce insects for pollination by their appearance (e.g., disguised orchids entice visitors); there is the production of sweet nectar as a bribe in flowers to attract bees, butterflies, and honey-sucking birds. A particular outstanding phenomena are the carnivorous plants that have developed trapping and digesting systems of insects and higher animals.
