Every ecosystem is a complex organization of carefully mixed life forms; a dynamic and particularly sensible system. Consequently, their progressive decline may accelerate climate change and vice versa, influencing flora and fauna composition and distribution, resulting in the loss of biodiversity. Climate changes effects are the principal topics of this volume. Written by internationally renow…
This volume assembles papers that provide empirical evidence for the success or otherwise of landscape and community or local government managed initiatives to conserve biodiversity. The papers report successful biodiversity conservation projects that have operated at those scales as well as documenting cases where these approaches were attempted but were less successful. The papers identify th…
The term biodiversity has become a mainstream concept that can be found in any newspaper at any given time. Concerns on biodiversity protection are usually linked to species protection and extinction risks for iconic species, such as whales, pandas and so on. However, conserving biodiversity has much deeper implications than preserving a few (although important) species. Biodiversity in ecosyst…
The state of São Paulo, Brazil, is one of the most densely populated and developed areas in South America. Such development is evident both in terms of industrialization and urbanization, as well as in agriculture, which is heavily based on sugar cane, Eucalyptus plantations and livestock. This intense land use has resulted in great alteration of the original land cover and fragmentation of na…
This book - Biodiversity Enrichment in a Diverse World - considered biodiversity (plants, animals, fungi, and microbes) from three different angles: genetics, species, and ecosystems. The relationships between them are complex and it looks at these aspects from different angles and also various interventions at different levels. The scientific approach of the book demonstrates that the three le…
This book "Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization in a Diverse World" sees biodiversity as management and utilization of resources in satisfying human needs in multi-sectional areas including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, wildlife and other exhaustible and inexhaustible resources. Its value is to fulfill actual human preferences and variability of life is measured by amount of genetic va…
Biodiversity and Protected Areas assembles twelve topics from around the world, illustrating the complexities and promise of addressing the biodiversity crisis. Authors from Mongolia, Africa, India, Canada, Iraq, and the United States dwell on particular aspects and challenges relevant to those regions. Lessons and approaches from interesting localities, coupled with global analyses give the re…
This open access book identifies and discusses biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the book identifies the implications of this relationship for nature conservation, public health, landscape architecture and urban planning – and considers the opportunities of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. This transdiscipli…
Global forest communities cover only about 30% of land areas, but they provide important ecosystem services, such as watershed protection, carbon sequestration, and oxygen production, as well as renewable forest products for human subsistence and markets. Forests also support the majority of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Although land conversion for agriculture and pastureland has his…
Aquatic ecosystems are rich in biodiversity and home to a diverse array of species and habitats, providing a wide variety of benefits to human beings. Many of these valuable ecosystems are at risk of being irreversibly damaged by human activities and pressures, including pollution, contamination, invasive species, overfishing and climate change. Such pressures threaten the sustainability of the…