Contaminants in Terrestrial Environments

Defining ecology as a system-theory oriented synthesis ofboth earth and life sciences, the book aims at a novel co-herent understanding of chemicalimpact on the lower at-mosphere and characteristic types of terrestrial ecosystems.To this end comprehensive flux-analytical and hierarchicalmodelling approaches were developed and consulted, which in-clude a thorough consideration of the specific physical andgeographic boundary conditions of the processes involved.The first part is devoted to fundamentals of environmentalchemistry and ecology, while the second deals with the com-plex atmospheric pathways of anthropogenic chemicals. In thelast part, the manifold interactions of these compounds ortheir metabolites with the soil-vegetation complex of eco-systems are described. Chapters on pollutant impact on mate-rials and a review of chemical fate modelling are included.Thus scientists and practitioners facing ecological projectsmay expect to obtain a deeper insight into landscape ecologyfrom the impact point of view owing to the concise presenta-tion of complex mechanisms and the generalized modelling ap-proach.