The Ecology Of Fynbos Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of The Ecology Of Fynbos book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
South Africa's Cape Floristic Region includes approximately 8,500 plant species. Most of this biodiversity is concentrated in fynbos, a fire-prone shrubland occurring on the sandy, infertile soils which predominate in this region.This book reviews a decade of rigorous research into the biogeography, ecology and management of fynbos, carried out under the auspices of the Fynbos Biome Project.
Fynbos by Nicky Allsopp,Jonathan F. Colville,G. Anthony Verboom Pdf
"This book provides the first synthesis of the field for 20 years, bringing together the latest ecological and evolutionary research on the South African global biodiversity hotspots of the Greater Cape Floristic Region--the iconic fynbos and succulent karoo"--Page 4 of cover.
The fynbos region is one of the most spectacularly diverse places on Earth. This is not an idle statement. When one considers the diversity of insects, freshwater and marine species also associated with the Cape, this hotspot is arguably the hottest of all.
As the human population inexorably grows, its cumulative impact on the Earth's resources is hard to ignore. The ability of the Earth to support more humans is dependent on the ability of humans to manage natural resources wisely. Because disturbance alters resource levels, effective management requires understanding of the ecology of disturbance. This book is the first to take a global approach to the description of both natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes that physically impact the ground. Natural disturbances such as erosion, volcanoes, wind, herbivory, flooding and drought plus anthropogenic disturbances such as foresty, grazing, mining, urbanization and military actions are considered. Both disturbance impacts and the biotic recovery are addressed as well as the interactions of different types of disturbance. Other chapters cover processes that are important to the understanding of disturbance of all types including soil processes, nutrient cycles, primary productivity, succession, animal behaviour and competition. Humans react to disturbances by avoiding, exacerbating, or restoring them or by passing environmental legislation. All of these issues are covered in this book. Managers need better predictive models and robust data-collections that help determine both site-specfic and generalized responses to disturbance. Multiple disturbances have a complex effect on both physical and biotic processes as they interact. This book provides a wealth of detail about the process of disturbance and recovery as well as a synthesis of the current state of knowledge about disturbance theory, with extensive documentation.
Brian W. van Wilgen,David M. Richardson,Frederick J. Kruger,Hubertus J. van Hensbergen
Author : Brian W. van Wilgen,David M. Richardson,Frederick J. Kruger,Hubertus J. van Hensbergen Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media Page : 347 pages File Size : 42,8 Mb Release : 2012-12-06 Category : Science ISBN : 9783642761744
Fire in South African Mountain Fynbos by Brian W. van Wilgen,David M. Richardson,Frederick J. Kruger,Hubertus J. van Hensbergen Pdf
Ecologists are increasingly being drawn into the task of addressing problems of environmental degradation. They are expected to find solutions that will lead to sustainable resource use throughout the world. In doing so, the robustness of the science becomes increasingly important, and the problem of extrapolating the results of research conducted within what is usually a relatively limited geographical scope is increasingly highlighted. One approach to developing a globally robust ecology involves more or less formal intercontinental comparative studies, usually focused on the question of ecological convergence. These studies are directed at testing the prediction that similar physical and other environmental factors in different parts of the world, through their selective influences, will give rise to ecosystems which share com mon structural and functional features. Should this be true, the predictive power of ecology developed within such a framework should be sufficient to solve similar problems elsewhere in such biomes. There is a long history of such an approach in mediterranean type ecosystems, documented in a series of volumes and their accompanying scientific papers beginning with that of Di Castri and Mooney (1973).
Wildfires kill many animals, but are populations of animals affected? How do animals survive the passage of fire? Why do some tree species survive and others die in a fire? Do frequent fires cause changes in plant community composition? Answering questions such as these requires an understanding of the ecological effects of fire. Aimed at senior undergraduate students, researchers, foresters and other land managers, Dr Whelan's book examines the changes wrought by fires with reference to general ecological theory. The impacts of fires on individual organisms, populations and communities are examined separately, and emphasis is placed on the importance of fire regime. Each chapter includes a listing of 'outstanding questions' that identify gaps in current knowledge. The book finishes by summarising the major aspects of ecology that are of particular relevance to management of fires - both protection against wildfires and deliberate use of fire.
Plant Functional Types by Thomas Michael Smith,H. H. Shugart,F. I. Woodward Pdf
This book describes approaches and methods for grouping species with similar characteristics into functional types in ways which maximise our potential to predict accurately the responses of real vegetation with real species diversity.
Author : Ian Billick,Mary V. Price Publisher : University of Chicago Press Page : 479 pages File Size : 42,9 Mb Release : 2012-08-01 Category : Science ISBN : 9780226050447
The Ecology of Place by Ian Billick,Mary V. Price Pdf
Ecologists can spend a lifetime researching a small patch of the earth, studying the interactions between organisms and the environment, and exploring the roles those interactions play in determining distribution, abundance, and evolutionary change. With so few ecologists and so many systems to study, generalizations are essential. But how do you extrapolate knowledge about a well-studied area and apply it elsewhere? Through a range of original essays written by eminent ecologists and naturalists, The Ecology of Place explores how place-focused research yields exportable general knowledge as well as practical local knowledge, and how society can facilitate ecological understanding by investing in field sites, place-centered databases, interdisciplinary collaborations, and field-oriented education programs that emphasize natural history. This unique patchwork of case-study narratives, philosophical musings, and historical analyses is tied together with commentaries from editors Ian Billick and Mary Price that develop and synthesize common threads. The result is a unique volume rich with all-too-rare insights into how science is actually done, as told by scientists themselves.
Author : Mary T. Kalin Arroyo,Paul H. Zedler,Marlyn D. Fox Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media Page : 468 pages File Size : 44,7 Mb Release : 2012-12-06 Category : Science ISBN : 9781461224907
Ecology and Biogeography of Mediterranean Ecosystems in Chile, California, and Australia by Mary T. Kalin Arroyo,Paul H. Zedler,Marlyn D. Fox Pdf
Mediterranean-type ecosystems have provided ecologists with some of the most scientifically-rewarding opportunities to formulate and evaluate hypotheses about large and small-scale ecological phenomena. Comparison of mediterranean-type climate ecosystems in different parts of the world has not only permitted a strong test for ecological convergence, but also critical understanding of key ecophysiological and population processes.
Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems by F.J. Kruger,D.T. Mitchell,J.U.M. Jarvis Pdf
The theory of ecological convergence underlies the biogeographers' maps of world biome-types. It also determines the degree to which ecological principles, derived from research on particular populations, communities or ecosystems, are generally valid, and hence also to what extent resource management principles are general. To quote Di Castri and Mooney (1973): "In effect, in order to assess the transfer of technology, it is essential to know to what extent information acquired from studying one particular ecosystem is applicable to another ecosystem of the same type but situated in a different location. " The five relatively small, isolated, mediterranean-climate zones of the earth, each with its distinct fauna and flora, have provided the ideal testing grounds for this theory. A heritage of precisely focused ecosystems research has resulted, beginning with the international comparative analyses conducted by Specht (l969a, b) but with antecedents in earlier studies in South Australia (Specht and Rayson 1957, Specht 1973). Cody and Mooney (1978) reviewed the information available at the time for the four zones excepting Australia and concluded that the arrays of strategy-types to be found among the different biotas were so similar that they could be explained only in terms of the convergence hypothesis; nevertheless, evident differences in community organization and dynamics, especially phenol ogy, required closer study of resource availability and resource-use patterns to better explain relations between form and function overall, and to assess the degree of convergence at higher levels of organization than the population.
