Tropical Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts

Erscheinungsjahr 2000
ISBN: 978-0-521-64251-4
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 478 Seiten, Format (B × H): 189 mm x 246 mm, Gewicht: 1320 g

Over one third of the earth's terrestrial surface is situated in the tropics, with environments ranging from hot deserts to tropical rain forests. This introductory textbook, aimed at students studying tropical ecology, provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes and is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems, and its international scope. The volume also considers the human ecological dimension, with coverage of issues such as population growth, urbanisation, agriculture and fisheries, natural resource use and pollution, plus global issues such as the conservation of biodiversity, climate change and the concept of ecological sustainability. The text is supported throughout by boxes containing supplementary material on a range of topics and organisms, plus mathematical concepts and calculations, and is enlivened with clear line diagrams, maps and photographs. A cross-referenced glossary, an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive index are included as further aids to study.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Osborne, Patrick L.

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Angewandte Physik Soziophysik, Wirtschaftsphysik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Ökologie
• Geowissenschaften Geologie Umweltgeologie, Geoökologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Naturschutzbiologie, Biodiversität
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Terrestrische Ökologie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Meeres- und Süßwasserökologie
• Geowissenschaften Geologie Paläoökologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. The tropical environment; 2. Hot deserts and environmental factors; 3. Grasslands and primary production; 4. Savanna and population dynamics; 5. Lakes, energy flow and biogeochemical cycling; 6. Rivers, floodplains and estuaries: the flood-pulse and river continuum concepts; 7. Wetlands and succession; 8. Tropical rain forest and biodiversity; 9. Mountains, zonation and community gradients; 10. Mangroves, seagrasses and decomposition; 11. Coral reefs and community ecology; 12. Isolated habitats and biogeography: islands in the sea, air and land; 13. Cities and human ecology; 14. Global ecology: biodiversity, conservation, climate change and sustainable development; Glossary; References; Index.