Økologi, biosfæren

Discover the fascinating stories behind 300 species of insects and explore their world.Did you know that insects are essential to life on Earth? Without them, we simply couldn't exist-they pollinate our crops, break down dead matter, and play a vital role in our ecosystems. Yet their numbers are plummeting in the face of changing climates, pesticide use, and threats to their essential habitats. This cutting-edge book, grounded in the latest research by the Royal Entomological Society, teaches you all you need to know about bugs, beetles, butterflies, and more-revealing how vital they are to us and we are to them.From a look at Ancient Egyptian beekeeping, to the use of insects in medicines, to their importance in art and literature, this fascinating book knits together science, food, culture, and natural history.With advice on spotting insects in a range of habitats, species identification notes, a guide to attracting beneficial insects to your outdoor space, and more, this book is the ultimate wildlife lover's companion.

Microbiome-Based Decontamination of Environmental Pollutants explores the complex interactions of plant-associated microbiomes, providing insights into the pressing challenges of managing environmental resources such as soil, water, and waste. Analysis has shown a formidable potential based in the network interactions between plant microbiota and environmental contaminants. This book presents insights into the potential exploitation of these plant-associated microbial functions. This volume in the Plant and Soil Microbiome series summarizes microbiological aspects of environmental management from the basics to advanced theoretical as well as practical aspects of microbial-based approaches. The physical and chemical changes caused by pollution of an ecosystem can occur rapidly, significantly impacting the functionality of ecosystem services in that environment. Environmental contamination poses and increasingly global challenge through direct and indirect adverse impacts on the climate, soil productivity and the health concerns of human beings. Traditional remediation techniques are not consistently feasible in mitigating environmental contaminants challenges in terms of cost-effectiveness, limited land resources and toxic residual products. The use of plant-associated microbes as part of a network of tools opens a new door to explore an alternative, eco-friendly and economical technology to mitigate the challenges of environmental contamination.

This book, entitled Tracking Environmental Change Using Lake Sediments: Volume 6 ¿ Sedimentary DNA, provides an overview of the applications of sedimentary DNA-based approaches to paleolimnological studies. These approaches have shown considerable potential in providing information about the long-term changes of overall biodiversity in lakes and their watersheds in response to natural and anthropogenic changes, as well as tracking human migrations over the last thousands of years.Although the first studies investigating the preservation of these molecular proxies in sediments originate from the late-1990s, the number of scientific publications on this topic has increased greatly over the last five years. Alongside numerous ecological findings, several sedimentary DNA studies have been dedicated to understanding the reliability of this approach to reconstruct past ecosystem changes. Despite the major surge of interest, a comprehensive compilation of sedimentary DNA approaches and applications has yet to be attempted. The overall aim of this DPER volume is to fill this knowledge gap.

This volume explores the South Brazilian grasslands, a unique complex of ecosystems in Brazil. Despite high biodiversity and many important ecosystem services, their biodiversity and conservation are neglected, both nationally, and globally. This book provides a state-of-the-art synthesis of knowledge on the biodiversity and its drivers in South Brazilian grasslands and associated ecosystems. Further, the book discusses conservation challenges and options, as well as management strategies that help to maintain the region¿s uniqueness. The chapters present information on biodiversity and ecological features of the region, and put this information into the context of historical and current human land uses, allowing for links to global discussions of conservation and sustainable development. Altogether, the book contains 20 chapters organized in four sections. The book is directed at researchers, students and professionals working with biodiversity and sustainable development in southern Brazil, as well as to the international scientific and conservation community interested in grasslands and associated ecosystems, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions.

This book grapples with what it means when education and democracy are at an end: when these two foundational aspects of our society seem to have reached a culminating point, no longer appearing to produce and make sense amid the crises of our time. Engaging topical political events and mobilizing a variety of cultural resources, Di Paolantonio shows that today the possibility of the future and the significance of an expansive transgenerational sensibility are radically in question as trends toward destruction, cruelty, and banality are steering world-defying calamities, and sparking ¿chronopathologies¿ of doom and despair among the planet¿s occupants. Unfolding his argument through a series of accessible chapters that draw on contemporary philosophy, educational thinking, and cultural-artistic works, Di Paolantonio explores how the transgenerational sensibility retains a possibility we might tap for overcoming the impasses of our time.

Huge forest and bush fires, gigantic downpours, dying forests, floods, drought disasters, and tornadoes - almost daily reports of disasters in newspapers and on news tickers. A number of irreversible processes of destruction and self-destruction in nature are unfolding and calling survival into question in more and more regions. These processes make it clear that the global environmental catastrophe has begun!Mainly responsible for this development are the international supermonopolies which, in their pursuit of maximum profit, ruthlessly and against better knowledge brush aside the urgently necessary environmental protection and acutely required emergency measures. All those who do not want to perish in the global environmental catastrophe are challenged today, as never before, to take up a society-changing struggle. The book makes unmistakably clear: the rescue of humanity will be possible only in genuine socialism.This book is the supplement to the book, Catastrophe Alert! What Is to Be Done Against the Willful Destruction of the Unity of Humanity and Nature?, published in 2014. The supplementary volume proves that many of the prognoses made then are becoming a reality faster than expected. We are in a race against time!

Microbial bioremediation and biodegradation in environmental monitoring offers an environmentally friendly approach for the monitoring and effective removal of contaminants. Various aspects of microbial-mediated bioremediation take advantage of the microorganisms' ability to transform noxious compounds into utilizable intermediates and value-added products. Different microbial metabolites such as enzymes, biosurfactants, emulsifiers, organic acids, and solvents play significant roles in the decontamination of radioactive and heavy metals, chemical pesticides, and organic contaminants such as dyes and hydrocarbons in environmentally safe manners. Recent advancements in biochemical engineering, OMICS and genetic modification, and synthetic-biology pave ways for identifying indicator microbial strains, mechanisms of remediation, and the development of tailor-made microbe-metabolites for future applications. Microbial biotechnology in environmental monitoring and bioremediation thus represent a new way to rehabilitate and reconstruct "e;damaged"e; ecosystems.This work summarizes the latest research in the field of environmental bioremediation and offers fascinating insights on the behaviours of these unique microorganisms. It also presents exciting, new perspectives for the application of microbes in environmental protection. It is suitable for students, scholars, researchers and organizations involved in environmental protection.

Bio-based materials, including those containing wood, will become increasingly important as we move to a bio-based economy. Among their many attributes, it is vitally important that these materials are renewable, sustainable with proper management and environmentally benign.  Wood remains one of our most important bio-based materials. While it is an amazing material, wood still has negative attributes and drawbacks that can affect performance, including dimensional instability when wetted, vulnerability to fire and high temperatures, and susceptibility to biodeterioration. A variety of treatments have been developed to overcome these weaknesses. Among the most exciting of these treatments are nanomaterials. These materials have some exceptionally attractive properties for improving timber performance and have been the subject of intensive research over the past decade. There is a tremendous need for a single comprehensive source of information on this rapidly emerging subject with tremendous potential to enhance the performance of a variety of bio-based materials. This book contains 10 chapters, each compiled by different author(s) who are considered the top researcher(s) in their respective fields. The chapters begin with some basic background on nanomaterials and their synthesis, then explore different areas for potential applications and conclude with a review of the emerging questions about nanomaterial safety. The book is designed to provide the latest information and know-how on application and utilization of different nanomaterials to improve the properties of wood and wood-based composite panels. The contents cover some main topics in the industry including improving physical and mechanical properties, increasing resistance to biodegradation (including fungi and insects), developing wood-plastic composites (WPC), applying nanomaterials in paper and board industry, and emergence of transparent wood and radiation shielding. It also covers the use of nanomaterials to improve the performance of paints and finishes used for forest products. The book provides a single location for those interested in the field to begin.

In this book, leading researchers from this field systematically explain the latest research results on anaerobic responses in plants. The book is characterized by its in-depth coverage of the tolerance functions of plants under hypoxic conditions from a variety of perspectives, with a particular focus on research areas related to molecular biology and genetics. Although drought responses have dominated water stress research in the past, recent floods and attempts to introduce new cropping systems have made it necessary to take measures against excessive water stress injury, and systematic research is needed for this purpose. From this point of view, the approach taken in this book is new and interesting in that it covers basic research and adaptation technologies in the field, and can be applied to various different situations. The focus of this book is how plants can adapt to poor environments and improve productivity under the conditions of soil hypoxia caused by excess water, such as heavy rains and typhoons. From this point of view, the reader will be able to understand the various adaptations of plants to climate change, which will clarify the future directions of research and show the possibility of applying the knowledge and techniques gained in this book to the field.The Sixth Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2021) warns that global warming will proceed faster than previously assumed and that all regions of the world will face increasing changes. ¿Climate Resilient Development¿ has been proposed as a key phrase to combat global warming, and it is important to identify the adaptive capacity of plants and improve it where possible. In this regard, the publication of this book, which includes ideas for mitigating flood damage caused by global warming, is extremely important, timely, and rational.

This book focuses on ecosystems and species adaptations in the unique Peruvian Andean-Amazonian region. The presence of the Andes as the backbone is the cause of the huge ecosystem diversity and biodiversity of species that characterize the Andean-Amazonian ecosystems. The complex orography of Peru as results of the Andes presence in its tropical setting favors the occurrence of local climatic features that provide diverse environmental conditions for multiple, unique plant and animal species, many of them endemic to the Andes. The book will introduce the reader to the climatic history and geography of the Peruvian Andes and the Peruvian Natural Areas Protection system focusing on the Manu and Northwest biosphere reserves given their relevant ecological importance as well as the relationship between them and the local population. Important global topics like urbanization, deglaciation and global warming will be analyzed and discussed due to their impact in the Andes-Amazon ecosystems.Finally, the traditional land-use systems, agrobiodiversity and agrodiversity in Peru are present and linked with the climate change adaptations.

This volume presents full paper contributions from the International Conference of European Spatial Data for Coastal and Marine Remote Sensing (EUCOMARE) 2022, with the support of the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union, held in Saint Malo, France. EUCOMARE aims to promote academic and technical exchange on coastal related studies including coastal environmental and socio-economic issues, with the use of European remotely sensed data. The book is an excellent resource for scientists, engineers, and programme managers eager to learn about the recent developments and achievements in the field of remote sensing applications on marine and coastal areas. Readers will learn about recent advances in sensors' radiometric, spatial, temporal and spectral resolution, as well as new data processing approaches in remote sensing for monitoring and mapping the various characteristics of marine, coastal and aquatic systems.

This book offers an overview of the most important research and developments in silvopastoral systems of the northern part of South America and Central America, including the most common silvopastoral arrangements in each country and their characteristics in terms of productivity, and environmental and socioeconomic aspects. Featuring a compilation of original research articles, country overviews and reviews of the contribution of silvopastoral systems to different topics, it summarizes the state-of-the-art knowledge regarding various aspects of silvopastoral systems in this region.

This book represents the latest research on urban forestry in a Malaysian context. It demonstrates that urban forestry is concerned not only with environmental enhancement, but also other aspects, such as recreation, health and well-being, and government policies. This edited collection provides a comprehensive overview of urban forestry studies from various researchers in Malaysia, and includes rich historical perspectives of urban forestry in the country. It also tackles related issues in policy. The greening of urban Malaysia in the 1970s focused primarily on beautification and was primarily the province of horticulturists, landscapers, nursery workers, town planners, and architects, with negligible inputs from foresters, particularly urban foresters. Perhaps for that reason, the term "e;landscaping"e; has been used more widely than "e;urban forestry"e; by government and private institutions, politicians, stakeholders, academicians, and the public. Nevertheless, the authors show that the concept of urban forestry is not new for developing countries such as Malaysia, where urbanization is increasing at a rapid rate. The book unpacks this demographic shift from a predominantly rural to a principally urban society. As the only unified body of work on urban forestry and arboricultural studies in Malaysia, this volume presents an important interdisciplinary reference for students, researchers, and scholars in physical geography, forestry and urban forestry, arboriculture and landscape architecture, both in Malaysia, and in other developing urbanizing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. It is also an important resource for those working in environmental policy and practice, excavating the vital connection between the environment and well-being.

Grassland Degradation, Restoration and Sustainable Management of Global Alpine Area involves the stripping and regeneration of the grassland's mattic epipedon. The stripping of the mattic epipedon is a unique phenomenon on the global alpine area, which has left many unanswered questions. Is stripping degradation an inherent, inevitable feature of the alpine grassland ecosystem? Is it an avoidable occurrence? Why is ecological restoration of stripped degraded grassland extremely difficult? Does restoration rely on reconstructing the grassland's mattic epipedon? Or can it be done in another way? How can sustainable ecological restoration be achieved?Frontline researchers in global alpine area have used observational evidence from field studies to respond to these questions and to present a comprehensive picture of the problems and drivers of grassland degradation. The climate-environment interaction mechanism of grassland degradation is revealed by the holistic approach in this book. Ecological restoration is discussed through social and economic participation, and past and present restoration actions are analyzed from the perspective of traditional culture and ecological ethics. The future sustainable management of grassland under climate change and social and economic development trend is also covered. This book will alert people to the dangers of degradation and to the difficulties encountered in ecological restoration.

Ecophysiology and Ocean Acidification in Marine Mollusks: From Molecule to Behavior provides an extensive overview of the latest research on the various ecophysiological effects of ocean acidification on marine mollusks. This book synthesizes historical information and recent findings on the effects of environmental change, ocean warming, and acidification on key mollusks and their life-history. It also discusses the underlying mechanisms underpinning the effects of ocean warming and acidification. Written by internationally recognized experts in the field of marine biology, this book systematically examines the effects of ocean acidification on the reproduction, growth and development, physiological metabolism, immunity, and behavior of marine mollusks. The book concludes by discussing the implications of current research, acknowledging data limitations in the field, and proposing future research directions, providing a better understanding of the potential impacts of ocean acidification on mollusks and the global aquaculture industry and inspiring new thinking for future research practices. It will be an indispensable resource for researchers, practitioners, undergraduate and graduate students, conservationists, and aquaculturists alike who are interested in marine environmental change, ecology, physiology, and marine biology.

The Mekong Delta Environmental Research Guidebook, Volume Four comprehensively covers the Mekong Delta and presents new evidence on unsolved environmental issues. Key experts from around the world offer suggestions for the implementation of more effective mitigation and adaptation measures, especially in the context of climate change and upstream hydropower dam development. This book will help guide students and scientists, both juniors and seniors in their journey of the Mekong Delta Environmental Research, by presenting them with all the necessary information and detailed case studies for a more in-depth understanding of each issue so they can make informed decisions.

This proposed book chapter is expected to provide the readers with wide aspects of green technologies for industrial waste remediation. The first chapter is dedicated to the introduction to the title of the book. The chapter discusses various green technologies for industrial waste remediation. After that, the second chapter emphasizes the different types of applications of microorganisms in industrial waste treatment. After that, chapters emphasize the specific area of the title, including the micro and nanofiltration technology for the treatment of industrial wastewater, methods for the recovery and removal of heavy metals from industrial effluents, algal photobioreactor technology for industrial wastewater treatment, carbon capture and energy recovery, bioremediation of radioactive wastes, membrane-based technologies for industrial waste management, valorization of agro-industrial wastes for biorefinery products, bioaccumulation and detoxification of metals through genetically engineered microorganism, application of biochar in waste remediation, constructed wetlands for industrial wastewater remediation, bioelectrochemical treatment of recalcitrant pollutants, microplastics, petrochemicals including BTEX, applications of biosorbents in industrial wastewater treatment, Microbial biofilm reactor for sustainable wastewater treatment, dye adsorption and degradation using microbial consortium, sustainable treatment of endocrine disruptive chemicals released from industries, biological nanomaterials for industrial wastewater management, vermifiltration as a natural, cost-effective and green technology for biomanagement of industrial wastewater, biocatalytic remediation of industrial pollutants, and green treatment of poly aromatic hydrocarbons released from industrial waste. All the chapters cover various aspects of sustainable management of industrial wastes covering relevant literature and data.Further, this book discusses the various advanced techniques/methods adopted for the enhancement of waste management, like the application of nanoparticles. This book discusses other related topics such as algal photobioreactors for carbon dioxide sequestration. Further, chapters are included to discuss about life cycle assessment of the wastewater treatment tools and commercialization aspects.

This book explains forest and woody biomass harvest, harvesting machines, systems, logistics, supply chain management, best management practices, harvest scheduling and carbon sequestration. It also covers applications of harvesting principles in forest and biomass management practices. The book provides an in-depth understanding of functions and applications of current and future harvesting technologies, the unique characteristics of harvesting machine with respect to cost, productivity, and environmental impacts. Special features include harvest machine illustrations and images of field operations, tabular presentations of filed studies of forest operations and detailed modelling processes for forest and biomass harvest logistics and supply chain management. Specifically, the book is designed for students, researchers, educators, and practitioners in the field of forest and biomass harvest and logistics. The book's contents have been tested in teaching as the Harvesting Forest Product class for undergraduates and graduates in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University since 2000. The information contained in this book is a robust reference resource for students who would be future forest and biomass managers, timber contractors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators in the fields of forest and biomass operations, engineering, and resource management.

This comprehensive volume discusses the patterns and processes analyzed in macroecology with a distinct look at the theoretical and methodological issues underlying the discipline as well as deeper epistemological matters. The book serves as a synthesis of macroecological literature that has been published since Brown and Maurer proposed and defined the term ¿macroecology¿ in 1989. Author José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho draws from the different disciplines and branches (ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, behavioral sciences, climatology, and paleontology) that make up macroecology to present a full, holistic picture of where the discipline stands.Through ten chapters, Diniz-Filho moves from a discussion of what macroecology actually is to macroecological modeling to the more applied side of the discipline, covering topics such as richness and diversity patterns and patterns in body size. The book concludes with a synthesis of how macroecological researchis done in a theoretical and operational sense as well as unifying explanations for each of the macroecological patterns discussed, moving on to evaluate which theories and models are still useful and which ones can be abandoned. The book is intended for academics, young researchers and students interested in macroecology and conservation biogeography. In addition, because of the integrative nature of macroecology and the theoretical and methodological background in the book, it can be of interest to researchers working in related fields including but not limited to ecology and evolutionary biology.

In our rapidly growing and changing world, the sustainable management of Earth¿s resources has become an urgent global priority. Resource Management in Agroecosystems provides a compass for navigating this complex terrain. It offers a multifaceted exploration of resource management from sustainable agricultural practices to water and energy optimization, soil conservation, and biodiversity preservation. This book delves deep into the strategies needed to harmonize food production with environmental stewardship. Beyond addressing challenges, this book also spotlights opportunities, inviting readers to embark on a transformative journey. With profound gratitude to our authors, reviewers, and publishers, we invite you to join us in this intellectual odyssey. Let Resource Management in Agroecosystems guide you toward a more sustainable and resilient future, where the needs of humanity harmonize with the well-being of our planet.

'Footprints in the Woods' is John Lister-Kaye's account of a year spent observing the comings and goings of otters, beavers, badgers, weasels, and pine martens. This family - Mustelidae - all live in the wild at Aigas, the conservation and field study centre that has been John's home for more that 45 years.

This edited book brings out a comprehensive account of the faunal diversity in Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve which is part of the Sundaland Biodiversity hotspot. The main focus of this volume is to address the ecological and economic significance of the biodiversity of this region. The book provides latest information on the faunal diversity of Great Nicobar Biosphere. It focuses on various faunal communities of this regions such as Floral diversity, Butterflies, Moths, Dragonflies & Damselflies, Termites, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Scorpion, Spiders, Turtle, Nicobar megapode. Chapters in this volume also covers Reptiles & Amphibians, Fishes, Mammals, Land and freshwater Mollusca. Marine animals such as Opisthobranchs, Sponges, Scleractinian Corals and Soft corals, Sea Anemones, Polyclads, Marine Molluscs, Echinoderms are also discussed. It is of interest for the researchers, teachers, scientists, capacity builders, policy makers. Also serve as reading materials for graduate and post graduate students e.g., Wildlife Biology, Forestry, Environmental Science, Wildlife Ecology, Zoology, Life sciences, Parks/Sanctuaries managers, National and International scientists, policy makers will also find this to be a useful document.

This book discusses the challenges related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. It adds valuable strategies and insights into the development of new practices solving the identified social and economic problems related to ecosystem deterioration and anticipating other disasters related to climate change. As the decarbonization of cities and communities became an issue of great interest to many researchers, the book in hands will be of great importance to decision-makers and energy stakeholders and others seeking a more resilient and sustainable future and developing innovative technologies to overcome environmental deterioration.This book is a culmination of selected research papers from the first version of the international conference on 'Climate Chance and Environmental Sustainability' which was held in 2021 in collaboration with Chongqing University, China.

Literary Animal Studies and the Climate Crisis connects insights from the field of literary animal studies with the urgent issues of climate change and environmental degradation, and features considerations of new interventions by literature in relation to these pressing questions and debates. This volume informs academic debates in terms of how nonhuman animals figure in our cultural imagination of topics such as climate change, extinction, animal otherness, the posthuman, and environmental crises. Using a diverse set of methodologies, each chapter presents relevant cases which discuss the various aspects of these interstices. This volume is an intersection between literary animal studies and climate fiction intended as an interdisciplinary intervention that speaks to the global climate debate and is thus relevant across the environmental humanities.

The goal of this book is to convey the rich perspectives, principles, and enchantment of ecology to a broad audience of students and lifelong learners. The book is based on the belief that the science of ecology is best understood by examining familiar ecosystems from the natural world and weaving fresh insights and ecological concepts into an ecosystems framework to reveal the patterns, processes, and interactions that are the foundation of sustainable living systems in our biosphere. In the spirit of that teaching philosophy, the core of this book focuses on specific ecosystems that are familiar to most of us (e.g., forests, wetlands, streams, lakes, and the like).Taken as a whole, the chapters of this text are intended to provide a conceptual framework and an intellectual pathway for understanding and interpreting the ecology of the biosphere using elements of population, community, ecosystem, and landscape ecology. Equipped with this toolkit of ecological literacy, readers and students will hopefully be better prepared to make personal, business, and civic or governmental decisions that are consistent with a healthy and sustainable Earth.