Landscape Ecology Series – serie

Landscape Ecology - a rapidly growing science - quantifies the ways ecosystems interact. It establishes links between activities in one region and repercussions in another. Landscape Ecology: A Top-Down Approach serves as a general introduction to this emerging area of study.In this book the authors take a "top down" approach. They believe that context is equally as important as content and that an isolated, dismembered landscape fragment loses biodiversity. In contrast, past and current ecosystem studies have not considered the consequences of outside influences.The authors argue that the most detailed mathematical models of biodiversity within a landscape do not suffice to predict the outcome of management practices if the contextual analysis reveals that human impacts outside the landscape contribute to a reserve's ultimate demise. The material presented in this book demonstrates that protecting disconnected vignettes of nature in isolated national parks and reserves, or saving so-called "hot spots" of biodiversity, does not work.The rapid convergence of themes in ecology supports the study of the ecology of landscapes. Advances in this field will come from studies in landscape effects and the mobile organisms whose top down effects create and maintain landscapes. Landscape Ecology: A Top Down Approach supplies the basics for this work.

Rehabilitation of Rivers Principles and ImplementationRiver rehabilitation has become an issue at the top of the agenda for water authorities and river managers in many countries throughout the world. This challenging topic involves a wide range of themes, many of which are brought together in this volume. They concern planning strategy, implementation and project appraisal for a number of different types of river systems including upland, lowland and urban rivers. Topic areas addressed include hydrology, geomorphology, ecology and economics as, to be successful, rehabilitation of freshwaters must incorporate all of these subjects within a holistic framework. This volume covers a wide range of countries, provides comprehensive and integrated coverage of factors concerning river rehabilitation and encompasses policy, planning and implementation. As such, the text will have a lasting reference value and practical application. Rehabilitation of Rivers combines prescriptive, analytical and reviewing contributions, covering a wide range of case studies from Britain, continental Europe, the USA, Australia and Japan. It also examines strategic issues such as catchment planning and integrated application of ecology and engineering in river rehabilitation. This book will be an important text for all water authorities and river managers as well as hydrologists, geomorphologists, ecologists and nature conservationists.

There is growing concern over the conservation and management of European wet grasslands.The maintenance of the European wet grassland landscape, including floodplain meadows and coastal grazing marshes or pastures, through traditional low-intensity farming has conserved a habit supporting internationally important plant and animal communities, including many rare species. However,land use changes such as flood defence, land drainage, agricultural intensification and neglect have caused a considerable reduction in the extent and biodiversity of European wet grasslands. The international importance of the habitat for biodiversity conservation has recently been recognised with its inclusion in the European Union Habitats and Species Directive and the Convention on Biological Diversity fostered by the United Nations. This volume thoroughly examines European perspectives of wet grassland ecology in order to encourage an integrated approach to contemporary issues. Important topics covered include the status of wet grasslands in Europe, their biodiversity (plants, invertebrates and birds), hydrology and management (especially for conservation objectives), and the restoration of this threatened habitat. It combines prescriptive, analytical and reviewing contributions, including case studies from across Europe. As such, this book will appeal equally to academic institutions and professional practitioners.