Økologi, biosfæren

This book focuses solely on the issues of agricultural productivity analysis with advanced modeling approaches bringing solutions to food-insecure regions of the world, especially in south and southeast Asia and in Africa. Advanced modeling tools and their use in regional planning provide an outstanding opportunity to help face the challenges of climate change. The sudden effect of flash floods, drought, salinity, and sea water rises causing saltwater intrusions and its impact on agricultural production are some of the disastrous results of climate change.In this edited volume, information on climate-induced impacts for flooding, flash floods, and drought impact on agricultural crops is provided to address possible solutions for food security in south Asia, southeast Asia, and some regions of Africa. Leading-edge research methodology is presented as it relates to remote sensing applications for regional science and allied fields. In regional policy planning, agriculture andforestry play key roles in food security along with environmental conservation and depend on geo-spatial variability. Satellite remote sensing and geographical information systems have an immense potential to encompass all these factors and to catalogue the regional variability of climate change and climate economics. In the satellite remote sensing domain, advanced modeling tools, deep learning applications, and cloud-based earth engines significantly increase the flexibility of decision making and its application for regional perspectives. The result can increase agricultural and forest productivity and ensure its resilience and sustainability.The book¿s chapters introduce modeling techniques such as machine learning and fuzzy expert system using satellite remote sensing datasets based on cloud application. These methods assist regional planners to increase crop production, land use, and detection of changes in land cover in order to better understand their vulnerability toclimate-related disaster. Furthermore, remote sensing and in-depth GIS analysis are integrated with machine learning to address natural uncertainties such as flash floods, droughts, and cyclones so that emergency responses for agricultural production management can be adopted more effectively.

A captivating exploration of how underwater animals tap into sound to survive, and a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes - from an award-winning science writer.For centuries humans ignored sound in the 'silent world' of the ocean, assuming that what we couldn't perceive, didn't exist. But we couldn't have been more wrong. Marine scientists now have the technology to record and study the complex interplay of the myriad sounds in the sea. Finally, we can trace how sounds travel with the currents, bounce from the seafloor and surface, bend with temperature, and even saltiness; how sounds help marine life survive; and how human noise can transform entire marine ecosystems.In Sing Like Fish, award-winning science journalist Amorina Kingdon synthesises historical discoveries with the latest research in a clear and compelling portrait of this sonic undersea world. From plainfin midshipman fish, whose swim-bladder drumming is so loud it keeps houseboat-dwellers awake, to the syntax of whalesong, from the deafening crackle of snapping shrimp, to underwater earthquakes and volcanoes, sound plays a vital role in feeding, mating, parenting, navigating, and warning. Meanwhile, our seas also echo with human-made sound, and we are only just learning how these pervasive noises can mask mating calls, chase animals from their food, and even wound creatures.Intimate and artful, Sing Like Fish tells a uniquely complete story of ocean animals' submerged sounds, envisions a quieter future, and offers a profound new understanding of the world below the surface.

This thorough volume presents a wide range of existing methods, from the very popular to the more exotic, in the area of plant genotyping. Many methods of plant genotyping were initially developed for medical research, but all genotyping methods, if they are to be successful, should be suitable for application across the full range of studies within plant biology, as seen in this collection. Plant genotyping methods herein are based on a variety of assessments, including DNA microarray, with its hundreds of thousands of simultaneous reactions, or separate individual studies of DNA sequencing and fragment analysis, PCR and qPCR, allele-specific molecular probes and primers, digestion with restriction endonucleases, microscopy and many others. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step and readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Plant Genotyping: Methods and Protocols offers researchers the opportunity to update their knowledge and choose the most suitable method of plant genotyping for their chosen application.

This edited volume covers sustainable biomass valorization and its application in various sectors.Bioenergy has concerned enormous attention as a promising alternative to conventional energy resources. Abundance of bioresources and their renewable nature provides a distinct advantage to biofuels from sustainability perspective. Biofuels have found increasing applications in the energy and transportation sector in recent years. Blended fuels are being used worldwide. However, several challenges remain to be addressed due to the diverse nature of biomasses and inherent recalcitrant nature of biological materials used as feedstock. This book aims to provide an overview of recent developments in the production of bioenergy and its applications in various areas. Specific emphasis is given to production of biofuels from modern biomass such as agro-forest waste and dedicated non-edible energy crops that do not interfere with food production. The scope of the book covers synthesis and characterization of biologically derived fuels, advances in microbiological methods and enzyme engineering approaches. The book covers techno-economic analysis to identify challenges and prospects for commercialization of biofuels. The directions for future research should pave way for net zero scenario for a sustainable world.The book will cater to a wide range of readers interested in learning the fundamentals as well as advances in the field of biofuels.

By 1930, no place in the world was less well explored than Greenland. The native Inuit had occupied the relatively accessible west coast for centuries. The east coast, however, was another story. In August 1930, Henry George Watkins (nicknamed "Gino"), a twenty-three-year-old British explorer, led thirteen scientists and explorers on an ambitious expedition to the east coast of Greenland and into its vast and forbidding interior to set up a permanent meteorological base on the icecap, 8,200 feet above sea level. The Ice Cap Station was to be the anchor of a transpolar route of air travel from Europe to North America.The weather on the ice cap was appalling. Fierce storms. Temperatures plunging lower than -45° Celsius in the winter. Watkins's scheme called for rotating teams of two men each to monitor the station for two months at a time. No one had ever tried to winter over in that hostile landscape, let alone manage a weather station through twelve continuous months. Watkins was younger than anyone under his command. But he had several daring trips to the Arctic under his belt and no one doubted his judgement.The first crisis came in the fall when a snowstorm stranded a resupply mission halfway to the top for many weeks. When they arrived at the ice cap, there were not enough provisions and fuel for another two-man shift, so the station would have to be abandoned. Then team member August Courtauld made an astonishing offer. To enable the mission to go forward, he would monitor the station solo through the winter. When a team went up in March to relieve Courtauld, after weeks of brutal effort to make the 130-mile journey, they could find no trace of him or the station. By the end of March, Courtauld's situation was desperate. He was buried under an immovable load of frozen snow and was disastrously short on supplies. On 21 April, four months after Courtauld began his solitary vigil, Gino Watkins set out inland with two companions to find and rescue him.David Roberts, "veteran mountain climber and chronicler of adventures" (The Washington Post), draws on firsthand accounts and archival materials to tell the story of this daring expedition and of the epic survival ordeal that ensued.

Advances in Sustainable Applications of Microalgae discusses different mechanisms used by microalgae to treat various gaseous streams, wastewaters, and pollution bioremediation. In addition, the advantages of the application of microalgal biomass in the agricultural and food/feed sectors are presented and bioenergy from microalgae with a view to sustainability is explored. The present covers the use of microalgal cultures in various applications, such as: the treatment of gaseous streams by removing various contaminants, wastewater treatment through the removal of several pollutants, biomass valorization for agriculture purposes, bioenergy from microalgae, and industrial integration of all these processes in a biorefinery concept. Finally, the book emphasizes the importance of gathering scientific knowledge to overcome drawbacks related to microalgal production and develops the concept of biorefinery based on microalgal biomass for a more sustainable future.

Evapotranspiration in Agro-Ecosystems and Forestry: Spatio-temporal Applications presents the progress and advances made in terms of science and application of evaporation, transpiration, and evapotranspiration for various vegetation surfaces, water bodies, and bare soil under different soil and crop management (including different irrigation and tillage management) conditions. Sections on forest and wetlands evapotranspiration and grassland evaporative losses are included, as are the fundamentals of original Penman, Penman-Monteith, Shuttleworth-Wallace and ASCE-EWRI and FAO56 Penman-Monteith equations and their derivatives. The book is an excellent resource to better understand the progression and applications and dynamics of most recent evapotranspiration, evaporation and transpiration measurement and modeling technologies. Case studies will be provided in terms of how different technologies are currently deployed, how data are used for providing information and management decisions to the users.

This book combines chapters emphasising mathematical, statistical, and computational modelling applied to insect populations, particularly pests or natural enemies in agricultural landscapes. There is a gap between agricultural pest experimentation and ecological theory, which requires a connection to supply models with laboratory, and field estimates and projects receiving inputs and insights from models. In addition, decision-making in entomology with respect to pest management and biological conservation of natural enemies has been supported by results obtained from different computational and mathematical approaches. This book brings contemporary issues related to optimization in spatially structured landscapes, insect movement, stability analysis, game theory, machine learning, computer vision, Bayesian modelling, as well as other frameworks.

The mammal fauna of the Brazilian Amazon is one of the most diverse on Earth with over 450 known species. Bringing together more than 70 of the world¿s top experts on Amazonian mammals, this book unites, for the first time, up-to-date data on the current state of knowledge on the ecology of all groups of non-rodent mammals in the Brazilian Amazon, analyses the effectiveness of current conservation programmes and identifies research and conservation priorities for the future.

In allen seinen Teilgebieten weist Mitteleuropa eine beachtliche natur- und kulturlandschaftliche Vielfalt auf, die unser Erleben draußen enorm bereichert. Vom Hochgebirge bis zur Küste laden äußerst unterschiedliche Lebensraum-Ensembles zur aktiven Erkundung ein. Erfahren Sie in diesem Buch u.a.·      wie die zurückliegenden Eiszeiten Gletschertore geschaffen und die Landschaft im Voralpenland modelliert haben·      wo in Norddeutschland noch vor etwa 10000 Jahren die Vereisungsgrenzen verliefen·      was entlang von Fließgewässern vom kleinen Gebirgsbach bis zum großen Strom zu beobachten ist·      weshalb auch die Stillgewässer nicht nur der großen Seenplatten äußerst erlebniswerte Lebensräume darstellen·      warum auch vom Menschen geschaffene Ersatzstandorte wie Ackersäume und Wiesen wertvolle Biotope darstellen·      was in den Nationalparkgebieten an der Nordseeküste Erlebniswertes auf Sie wartetDieses Buch bietet mit seinen sorgsam ausgewählten Fallbeispielen zwar keine enzyklopädische Komplettübersicht, aber doch eine animativ-themenreiche Anregung zum aktiveren Erleben und Wahrnehmen der besonderen Facetten unseres heimischen Ambientes. Der AutorDr. Bruno P. Kremer, Hochschullehrer i.R., befasst sich schon seit langem mit regionalkundlichen Themen insbesondere im Hinblick auf ihren Naturerlebniswert. Er ist Autor zahlreicher erfolgreicher Lehrwerke und preisgekrönter Natursachbücher, die in 15 Sprachen übersetzt wurden.

We are essentially alone in a vast, beautiful, and magnificent cosmos. The life that teems on our own blue planet, and its representatives in the fossil record, is exceptionally special. The story of planet Earth is a narrative stitched together over 4 billion years, full of major altercations and near-misses superimposed on a gradual drift of environmental change. Yet somehow life has survived. Oasis Earth is a rational enquiry into key questions about the origins, purpose, and destiny of life on Earth, using an approach by the author that is built upon a career as a leading Earth scientist and a life as a Christian believer. This approach treats both science and religion with equal respect and shows that conflict is not inevitable between Christian faith (as a guide to how to live life and relate to others) and scientific principles (with which to understand the mechanics of the physical world).

This book focuses on the various applications of microorganisms for sustainable environment and the reduction of hazardous pollutants released in various forms, including xenobiotics, e-waste, pesticides, insecticides, plastic, heavy metals, paper waste, medical waste, textile dyes, and their impact on environmental and human health. The book involves a series of research reports that explain the application of microbes used to solve real-life issues raised due to changes happening in environment, including pollution, by covering applications, including the use of bacteria, fungi, microalgae and biofilm in the detection and degradation of crude oil, pesticides, dyes, e-waste, heavy metals and other pollutants. It also focuses on integrative strategies in the application of microbial nanomaterials for remediation of pollutant. This material will help environmental scientists and microbiologists to learn about existing environmental problems and suggest novel ways to control or contain their effects by employing various treatment approaches.

As I left the canyon's bottom and climbed over its rim, I was struck by how vast and open the sagebrush steppe is. The contrast was remarkable! Whereas the canyon is a complex of visibly discrete habitats that formed a clear, interconnected mosaic within the confines of its walls, the area above the rim is an endless, indivisible expanse of Great Basin sagebrush and grasses to the horizon and beyond.With my first step above the rim, I left the enchantment of the canyon's gentle breezes to be greeted by the uplifting melody of a meadowlark-my welcoming committee for this phase of work. The creatures I'd meet in the sagebrush steppe would not be as intimately known as those in the canyon due to the seemingly boundless breadth of open, uniformly-appearing country and the limited time available for an extensive inventory.

THIS UNIQUE BOOK is the product of many years of research in many parts of Australia. For the first time, it presents an invaluable cross-section of the tracks and traces of a wide range of Australian mammals and reptiles.Everyone interested in Australian wildlife will welcome this essential and practical work, which enables quick identification of animal presence in many types of environment.The practical and easily-followed data guides the reader on animal identification by study of tracks, droppings, skeletal remains, diggings, and storage techniques.The text is amplified by a superb collection of 400 detailed photographs, showing a large range of tracks, skulls, and droppings of Australian native animals , plus a number of diagrams.A fascinating section of the book describes and illustrates the ways in which Aboriginal Australians simulate animal track with finger markings in sand or soil.(Facsimile of 1981 edition)

In the face of the anthropogenic threats to the singular planetary habitat we share with other human beings and non-human species, humanities scholars feel a renewed sense of urgency 1) to acknowledge the ways our species has funded particular histories of environmental exploitation, alienation, and collapse, 2) to unpack inherited assumptions that impact our views of nature and interspecies relations, and 3) to suggest ways of thinking and acting that seek to repair the damage and promote mutual flourishing for all of earth inhabitants. This volume brings together scholars in philosophy, theology, and religion who take up this urgent ethical task from a broad range of perspectives and locations.