E-Book Overview
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.
E-Book Content
ECOSYSTEMS OF THE WORLD 16
ECOSYSTEMS OF DISTURBED GROUND
ECOSYSTEMS OF THE WORLD Editor in Chief: David W. Goodall Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, W.A. (Australia)
I. TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
A. Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems Wet Coastal Ecosystems Dry Coastal Ecosystems Polar and Alpine Tundra Mires: Swamp, Bog, Fen and Moor Temperate Deserts and Semi-Deserts Coniferous Forests Temperate Deciduous Forests Natural Grasslands Heathlands and Related Shrublands Temperate Broad-Leaved Evergreen Forests Mediterranean-Type Shrublands Hot Deserts and Arid Shrublands Tropical Savannas Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems Wetland Forests Ecosystems of Disturbed Ground
17. 18. 19. 20. 21.
B. Managed Terrestrial Ecosystems Managed Grasslands Field Crop Ecosystems Tree Crop Ecosystems Greenhouse Ecosystems Bioindustrial Ecosystems
II. AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
22. 23.
A. Inland Aquatic Ecosystems River and Stream Ecosystems Lakes and Reservoirs
24. 25. 26. 27. 28.
B. Marine Ecosystems Intertidal and Littoral Ecosystems Coral Reefs Estuaries and Enclosed Seas Ecosystems of the Continental Shelves Ecosystems of the Deep Ocean
29.
C. Managed Aquatic Ecosystems Managed Aquatic Ecosystems
III. UNDERGROUND ECOSYSTEMS 30.
Subterranean Ecosystems
ECOSYSTEMS OF THE WORLD 16
ECOSYSTEMS OF DISTURBED GROUND Edited by Lawrence R. Walker Department of Biological Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 454004, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
1999 ELSEVIER Amsterdam – Lausanne – New York – Oxford – Shannon – Singapore – Tokyo
Elsevier Science B.V. Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 P.O. Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright by Elsevier Science B.V., and the following terms and conditions apply to its use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single chapters may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payme