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Faced with widespread and devastating loss of biodiversity in wild habitats, scientists have developed innovative strategies for studying and protecting targeted plant and animal species in "off-site" facilities such as botanic gardens and zoos. Such ex situ work is an increasingly important component of conservation and restoration efforts. Ex Situ Plant Conservation, edited by Edward O. Guerrant Jr., Kayri Havens, and Mike Maunder, is the first book to address integrated plant conservation strategies and to examine the scientific, technical, and strategic bases of the ex situ approach. The book examines where and how ex situ investment can best support in situ conservation. Ex Situ Plant Conservation outlines the role, value, and limits of ex situ conservation as well as updating best management practices for the field, and is an invaluable resource for plant conservation practitioners at botanic gardens, zoos, and other conservation organizations; students and faculty in conservation biology and related fields; managers of protected areas and other public and private lands; and policymakers and members of the international community concerned with species conservation.
Plants provide the food, shelter, medicines, and biomass that underlie sustainable life. One of the earliest and often overlooked uses of plants is the production of smoke, dating to the time of early hominid species. Plant-derived smoke has had an enormous socio-economic impact throughout human history, being burned for medicinal and recreational purposes, magico-religious ceremonies, pest control, food preservation, and flavoring, perfumes, and incense. This illustrated global compendium documents and describes approximately 2,000 global uses for over 1,400 plant species. The Uses and Abuses of Plant-Derived Smoke is accessibly written and provides a wealth of information on human uses for...
This book focuses on global efforts to protect plant diversity and the role that botanic gardens play in conserving plant species.
This book is an innovative study that places performance and dance studies in conversation with ecology by exploring the significance of dirt in performance. Focusing on a range of 20th- and 21st-century performances that include modern dance, dance-theatre, Butoh, and everyday life, this book demonstrates how the choreography of dirt makes biological, geographical, and cultural meaning, what the author terms "biogeocultography". Whether it’s the Foundling Father digging into the earth’s strata in Suzan-Lori Park’s The America Play (1994), peat hurling through the air in Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring (1975), dancers frantically shovelling out fistfuls of dirt in Eveoke Dance Theat...
We have everything we need to begin solving this crisis, with the exception of the will to act. But in America, our will to take action is itself a renewable resource. (Al Gore 2002) This book explains why we should take action and how to do so, giving insights saving time and money for future generations. Earth’s biodiversity is threatened in many ways, including by climate change, invasive species, and development. Conservation response cannot be defined by political boundaries, yet lands are commonly managed at the local, state and national levels. These authors’ actions from all levels, crossed lines to partner and get things done for the greater good. Expert educators, scientists, practitioners, citizens and policymakers took action, and contributed to the present volume. Conservation requires a multidisciplinary approach, and so herein some 50 disciplines inform and inspire future practices and policies. Students and professionals alike in applied ecology, wildlife biology, entomology, botany, land management, landscape architecture, journalism, ethics and public policy benefit from these authorities’ stories.
A fundamental aspect of the work of ecosystem restoration is to rediscover the past and bring it into the present-to determine what needs to be restored, why it was lost, and how best to make it live again. This handbook makes essential connections between past and future ecosystems, bringing together leading experts to offer a much-needed introduction to the field of historical ecology and its practical application by on-the-ground restorationists. - from publisher description.
Land abandonment is increasing as human influence on the globe intensifies and various ecological, social, and economic factors conspire to force the cessation of agriculture and other forms of land management. The “old fields” that result from abandonment have been the subject of much study, yet few attempts have been made to examine the larger questions raised by old field dynamics. Old Fields brings together leading experts from around the world to synthesize past and current work on old fields, providing an up-to-date perspective on the ecological dynamics of abandoned land. The book gives readers a broad understanding of why agricultural land is abandoned, the factors that determine...
Across the United States, millions of acres of land have been so disturbed by human activities or severe climate events that significant portions of their native plant communities have been lost and their ecosystems have been seriously compromised. Restoring impaired ecosystems requires a supply of diverse native plant seeds that are well suited to the climates, soils, and other living species of the system. Native seeds are also in demand for applications in urban land management, roadside maintenance, conservation agriculture, and other restorative activities that take into account the connection between native plant communities and the increasingly urgent need for resilient landscapes. Gi...
Understanding how ecosystems are assembled -- how the species that make up a particular biological community arrive in an area, survive, and interact with other species -- is key to successfully restoring degraded ecosystems. Yet little attention has been paid to the idea of assembly rules in ecological restoration, in both the scientific literature and in on-the-ground restoration efforts. Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology, edited by Vicky M. Temperton, Richard J. Hobbs, Tim Nuttle, and Stefan Halle, addresses that shortcoming, offering an introduction, overview, and synthesis of the potential role of assembly rules theory in restoration ecology. It brings together information and idea...
Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration presents case studies of five of the most noteworthy large-scale restoration projects in the United States: Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, California Bay Delta, the Platte River Basin, and the Upper Mississippi River System. These projects embody current efforts to address ecosystem restoration in an integrative and dynamic manner, at large spatial scale, involving whole (or even multiple) watersheds, and with complex stakeholder and public roles. Representing a variety of geographic regions and project structures, the cases shed light on the central controversies that have marked each project, outlining • the history of the project • the environmental ...