Charles Lane – författare

Written primarily for 16-19 year old students, this primer aims to extend students' knowledge and inspire them to take their school-level learning further. It explores topics that are familiar from the curriculum and also introduces new ideas, giving students a first taste of the study of biology beyond school-level and demonstrating how concepts frequently encountered at school are relevant to and applied in current research. This is the ideal text to support students who are considering making the transition from studying biology at school to university. For many years, much of the human population has lived in ignorance of plant disease - yet the presence or absence of disease in a crop, or a forest, can mean the difference between economic success or disaster, and - even in the 21st century - the difference between life and death for millions of people. This primer raises the profile of plant infectious diseases, highlighting the scale of the problem, the risks to biosecurity, and the advances in science which are impacting on surveillance, diagnosis and prevention of disease.This text opens with an overview of the importance of plant disease in human history, before reviewing the structure and function of the main types of pathogens involved in plant infectious diseases (bacteria, viruses, fungi and fungi-like pathogens), focusing on unusual and interesting examples. It then explores how plant diseases can be accurately diagnosed, explaining a variety of ways in which specific pathogens can be identified including the most recent developments in molecular analysis as well as cultural and serological techniques. The primer then moves on to consider disease surveillance, which still relies heavily on traditional techniques based on human observation. It also considers emerging techniques involving epidemiological models, remote monitoring, the monitoring of air and water, satellite tracking and genetic modification of crops. Disease management - ways in which plant diseases can be controlled and their spread halted - is then discussed. This area encompasses techniques spanning chemical control of insect, fungal and bacterial pests to genetic modification of crops to introduce disease resistance. The final section of the primer explores plant biosecurity and how it can be maintained - an ever-more important issue given the continued globalisation of trade - and the impact of global warming on where both plants and plant pathogens can grow and thrive.

An examination of the conflicts facing traditional pastoralist societies within the developing nations of Africa. The book explores the forms of traditional land tenure and access to grazing resources, which are being increasingly eroded by modern forms of ownership and development. It shows how communal land tenure arrangements are essential not only for the survival of these societies but also to manage the pastures and rangelands in question. The case studies are by local experts. They cover Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Each looks at: the political and legal context, trends in pastoral development, causes of conflict, procedures for resolving conflict, and environmental implications.

The United States stands alone as the only Western democracy that still practices capital punishment. Yet the American death penalty has gone into noticeable decline, with annual death sentences and executions dwindling steadily in recent years. In Stay of Execution, Charles Lane offers a fresh analysis of this unexpected trend and its moral and political implications. Countering conventional wisdom that attributes the death penalty's decline to public rejection of the "ultimate sanction," he shows that it is instead related to the ebbing of violent crime itself. The death penalty is not only more popular than critics claim; it is also less flawed by wrongful executions or racial bias. Lane argues that capital punishment should be preserved, while proposing major reforms to address its real inequities and inconsistencies.

This substantially updated edition now in full colour provides key techniques used when working with fungal and fungal-like plant pathogens. As a practical manual it also deals with disease recognition, detection and identification of fungi, plus methods to characterise and curate fungi and handle them under quarantine and quality assurance systems. Furthermore, this new edition includes significant updates with respect to: - Greater awareness and concern internationally about plant health and biosecurity. - Molecular biology - next generation sequencing and in-field detection. - Improved opportunities for surveillance and detection in diverse substrates. - Changes in taxonomy and reference to current fungal plant pathogens. - New chapters on tree health, and public awareness, outreach and communications. Fungal Plant Pathogens: Applied Techniques, 2nd edition provides a valuable guide to investigating fungal plant diseases and interpreting laboratory findings for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students, extension plant pathologists, consultants and advisers in agriculture, forestry and horticulture, and the food supply chain.

An examination of the conflicts facing traditional pastoralist societies within the developing nations of Africa. The book explores the forms of traditional land tenure and access to grazing resources, which are being increasingly eroded by modern forms of ownership and development. It shows how communal land tenure arrangements are essential not only for the survival of these societies but also to manage the pastures and rangelands in question. The case studies are by local experts. They cover Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Each looks at: the political and legal context, trends in pastoral development, causes of conflict, procedures for resolving conflict, and environmental implications.