John Birks – författare

The Holocene spans the 11,500 years since the end of the last Ice Age and has been a period of major global environmental change. However the rate of change has accelerated during the last hundred years, due largely to human impacts and this has led to a growing concern for the future of our environmental resources. Global Change in the Holocene demonstrates how reconstructing the record of past environmental change can provide us with essential knowledge about how our environment works and presents the reader with an informed viewpoint from which to project realistic future scenarios. The book brings together key techniques that are widely used in Holocene research, such as radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology and sediment analysis and offers a comprehensive analysis of various archives of environmental change including instrumental and documentary records, corals, lake sediments, glaciers and ice cores. This reference is an informative and cutting-edge resource for students of climate change, environmental science, geography, palaeoecology and archaeology.

An Illustrated Guide to British Upland Vegetation is the first comprehensive, single book on plant communities in the British uplands. It provides concise descriptions of all currently recognised British upland vegetation types. Written by a team comprising some of the most experienced upland field botanists and ecologists in the UK, the book brings together all of the upland communities described in the National Vegetation Classification together with a number of previously undescribed assemblages of plant species.A key enables the reader to classify vegetation in the field. Each vegetation type is described clearly and vividly, with guidance on how to differentiate between similar looking communities. There are detailed sections on the ecology, conservation and management of each community, and up-to-date distribution maps.This is the outcome of many years of field work in the British uplands, much of it supported by the UK Government conservation agencies. The book will be an indispensable guide for anyone with a keen interest in the uplands, notably ecologists, land managers, lecturers, and students, as well as the many organisations actively involved in this special environment.'Using the Rodwell classification, the authors have blended in their own ecological expertise to produce - at last - an account of British upland vegetation which is readable, visual and comprehensive. Its value to nature conservation will be immense.' Dr Derek Ratcliffe, former Chief Scientist, Nature Conservancy Council'Here is an outstanding companion and rich information-source for all whose occupations and interests lead them to the uplands. It not only furnishes a clear and ‘user-friendly’ guide to the diversity of vegetation types, but also provides a masterly overview of the upland environment.' Professor Charles H. Gimingham, Former Regius Professor of Botany, University of AberdeenThis book is a reprint edition of ISBN-10 1-86107-553-7 (2004).