Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Very Interesting.....
Beautiful photographs, inspiring text, but in tough economic times when the poorest schoolscannot even fix water fountains, or buy books, pencils and new desks, there is very very little in the book about how do we pay for these new eco wiseschools and school grounds?

Am still going to recommend the book because its visionary and is a book that will inspire people and perhaps private industry to pay for what needs to be done. ... Read more

Product Description

This is a textbook for Natural Resource Management, Resource Conservation and Ecosystem Management, as well as other related or more specialized courses.

Most textbooks on natural resource and ecosystem management are dominated by a steady-state view that interprets change as gradual and incremental and disregards interactions across scales. Management implementation of steady-state theory and policies tends to invest in controlling a few selected ecosystem processes, at the expense of long-term social-ecological resilience - i.e., the capacity of the system to cope with surprise and abrupt changes. Loss of resilience makes systems more vulnerable to both expected and unforeseen changes.

Achieving desirable outcomes for humanity, such as those of the UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty, food security, and environmental sustainability, will require new integrated and adaptive approaches to social and economic development, where the complex interconnectedness between humans and nature, at all scales, is considered and the existence of uncertainty and surprise accepted as the rule. The purpose of this textbook is to provide a new framework for resource management - a framework based on the necessity of managing resources in a world dominated by uncertainty and change. The book links recent advances in the theory of resilience, sustainability, and vulnerability with practical issues of resource management.

Product Description

For more than 30 years, John Tillman Lyle (1934-1998) was one of the leading thinkers in the field of ecological design. Design for Human Ecosystems, originally published in 1985, is his classic text that explores methods of designing landscapes that function in the sustainable ways of natural ecosystems.The book provides a framework for thinking about and understanding ecological design, along with a wealth of real-world examples that bring to life Lyle's key ideas. Lyle traces the historical growth of design approaches involving natural processes, and presents an introduction to the principles, methods, and techniques that can be used to shape landscape, land use, and natural resources in an ecologically sensitive and sustainable manner. Lyle argues that careful design of human ecosystems recognizes three fundamental concerns: scale (the relative size of the landscape and its connections with larger and smaller systems), the design process itself, and the underlying order that binds ecosystems together and makes them work. He discusses the importance of each of these concerns, and presents a workable approach to designing systems that effectively accounts for all of them. The theory presented is supported throughout by numerous case studies that illustrate its practical applications.This new edition features a foreword by Joan Woodward, noted landscape architecture professor and colleague of Lyle, that places the book in the context of current ecological design thinking and discusses Lyle's contributions to the field. It will be a valuable resource for landscape architects, planners, students of ecological design, and anyone interested in creating landscapes that meet the needs of all an area's inhabitants-human and nonhuman alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Another classic for future generations
John Lyle continues his seminal work presented in "Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development". Any one interested in designing deep structures of urban spaces into sustainable environments would benefit greatly from reading this book. This book also covers rural development as well. Propagation of water flows for maximum beneficial inter-relationships is one particula r topic of interest for me.

I highly recommend this book! ... Read more

Product Description
Limnology is the study of the structural and functional interrelationships of organisms of inland waters as they are affected by their dynamic physical, chemical, and biotic environments. Limnology: Lake and River Ecosystems, 3rd Edition, is a new edition of this established classic text. The coverage remains rigorous and uncompromising and has been thoroughly reviewed and updated with evolving recent research results and theoretical understanding. In addition, the author has expanded coverage of lakes to reservoir and river ecosystems in comparative functional analyses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

How do you rate it? It all depends how you want to use it.
Wetzel's "Limnology" is almost certainly a fixture on the bookshelf of every limnologist in the country (perhaps even the world).

1) Review of this product as a reference book:

Wetzel has been a leader in the field of Limnology for decades.This book contains a combination of his vast personal experience with the enormous amount of information that has been generated through the end of the 1990s.The book, perhaps more approprately referred to as a tome, addresses virtually every sub-discipline included in the field of limnology.And, the book is well cited, with well over 100 pp of citations.

The book contains abundant examples, explanations, and descriptions of all things limnological.He has also beefed his treatment of rivers and streams, which was more or less missing in the 1st edition.Still, the strength of this book is clearly the information on ponds and lakes.

This is an outstanding reference book - I'd probably award it 4 or 4.5 stars if a reference is all it were used for (it is a bit out of date now).

2) Review of this product at a textbook:

My first limnology course used Wetzel's first edition...a much smaller book, and much more easily digested than either the second or third editions.That was in my first year of graduate school.Since then Wetzel's book increased in size by format and number of pages in the 2nd editon, and even moreso in the 3rd edition.

The third edition can be downright intimidating when you see it.

The third edition's usefulness as a reference book has increased greatly, but at the cost of reducing its usefullness as a text.I am still weighing my options about a text for my limnology class in the fall (I wasn't pleased with Kalff's offering - the book I used last time), but I wonder whether Wetzel's 3rd edition is just too big, too long, and too focused on being a reference book rather than a textbook.

I noticed that little has been updated in terms of figures...I still recognize many of the figures from the 1st edition that are still in the 3rd.The impression I get from this book is that this is more or less Wetzel's crowning achievement in terms of a complete treatment of the discipline, but that has been achieved mainly by adding to what he already had rather than by editing and updating.And, with a 2001 publication date, this edition is now in serious need of further updating and revision.

I wish someone would take this project on, update it, revise it, and whittle it down to a lean and mean useful text of perhaps 600 pages.

I'm still in a quandry about using it as a textbook.

I'm afraid that I have to give it 3 or 3.5 stars as a textbook because of its massive bulk, the intimidation factor, and it's being somewhat out of date.

All in all, I still like this book better than that of Kalff.

4 stars...

took forever
I received the book like a month later, I even had to write to the seller

Good but not that good.
I thought this book was well written but went over my head in some areas, with the lack of explaining some concepts.It is a great book if you already have taken a limnology class and is great for references.Although kind of hard to keep reading due to the lack of color(keeps me entertained), I found this book to be quite well written for the use in my limnology class. Don't think I'll sell it back : )

Outstanding and In-Depth
I purchased this book even before I was a college student.Half way through my junior year, I continue to reference this outstanding resource in many of my research papers.No dumbing down in this text--it's depth and comprehensiveness is integral to its appeal and usefulness.I would love to see an update especially in light of the advances in ecological restoration and geotechnologies; but, "Limnolody" is a must for anyone who wants to understand water and/or riparian ecology.Kudo's to Wetzel!

Difficult to Read
Well there is no doubt that this book contains a large amount of information, it CANNOT be used as an introductory text.It is much to difficult to comprehend, and Wetzel makes absolutely no effort to teach the concepts.Here merely presents a synthesis of limnological research. ... Read more

Product Description
Outlines the central processes that characterize terrestrial ecosystems, tracing the flow of water, carbon, and nutrients from their abiotic origins to their cycles through plants, animals, and decomposer organisms. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
Book was received as listed. In new condition with speedy delivery. I would recommend this seller.

Book review
Item condition is perfect as described by seller. However, book is very confusing and hard to study from.

good stuff
Great book on basic terrestrial ecology.If you are an ecology major, you should get this book!

Essential for ecology
This textbook is excellent for life science students who want to approach ecology from the point of view of ecosystem functioning. A precise and clear systematic description of ecosystems organisazion is given, from physiology to complex communities organization. It also focuses on the emrgence of new functions and features every time the complexity level increases, which is essential to have a full systematic comprehension of ecosystems. Underlying physical-chemical processes are always taken into considaration, which contributes to easily understand all the general aspects of ecosystem functions. A must read.

good for the ecosystem ecologist in everyone
a technical book written for ecosystem ecologists but easy to read.I had to get it for a class, but it was well put-together and organized. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great calendar!
I love this calendar and I can feel good using it because it's eco-friendly!There's enough space to write appointments while the book itself is small enough to fit into a pocket or small purse. It has space for personal information and has handy info such as travel-related websites, time zones, and year-ahead calendars. I also appreciate the book mark and the elasticized band that can be used to mark the current week or future dates. I highly recommend this product! ... Read more

Product Description
In graphic novel format, follows the adventures of Max Axiom, a science teacher and super-cool super-scientist, as he explains the science behind ecosystems. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner in the category of Business, Management & Accounting in the 2003 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc.

Software has gone from obscurity to indispensability in less than fifty years. Although other industries have followed a similar trajectory, software and its supporting industry are different. In this book the authors explain, from a variety of perspectives, how software and the software industry are different—technologically, organizationally, and socially.

The growing importance of software requires professionals in all fields to deal with both its technical and social aspects; therefore, users and producers of software need a common vocabulary to discuss software issues. In Software Ecosystem, Messerschmitt and Szyperski address the overlapping and related perspectives of technologists and nontechnologists. After an introductory chapter on technology, the book is organized around six points of view: users, and what they need software to accomplish for them; software engineers and developers, who translate the user's needs into program code; managers, who must orchestrate the resources, material and human, to operate the software; industrialists, who organize companies to produce and distribute software; policy experts and lawyers, who must resolve conflicts inside and outside the industry without discouraging growth and innovation; and economists, who offer insights into how the software market works. Each chapter considers not only the issues most relevant to that perspective but also relates those issues to the other perspectives as well. Nontechnologists will appreciate the context in which technology is discussed; technical professionals will gain more understanding of the social issues that should be considered in order to make software more useful and successful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Tedious and basic
I'm a university student who purchased this book to get a little more insight into how software works / is designed / is integrated into IT. Based on other reviews, I felt this book would do the trick, and would be engaging.

However... this book only describes software in the most rudimentary way. It is essentially a big glossary of basic terms and principles and never probes the dynamics of the relationship between software and the designer, and software and the user.

Furthermore, it is a tedious read. It discusses software with the monotony of my most hated accounting texts.

Bottom-line, if you want the facts and just the facts, buy this book. If you truly want to understand how software is created, the role it plays in our lives, and its potential, keep looking.

Insightful, highly recommended
At the *intersection* of software and business, and the business of software. The authors draw on research in economics, IT, and strategy and bring them together to draw excellent insights at their intersection. The book is not really about business or software per se.

Depending on your background, you might want to skip entire sections that are right up your own alley. If you are a manager looking to REALLY understand how the architecture of IT systems (e.g., at the enterprise level) interacts with business strategy, this book will provide a good exposure. If you are a propellerhead or uber-geek wanting to understand more about how your work shapes, hinders, or facilitates business strategy, this book is just right. I keep up with new research developments in the business of software and feel comfortable saying that the insights in this book are not to be found in other books that exist on the market.

The book is very well written, but be forewarned, it is deep. Fully appreciating it requires thought, reflection on what the authors are saying, and a tempered pace. It is not a quick read and not a "how-to" book. My only quibble with this book has nothing to do with its content: Once you get rid of the dust jacket, the quality of its binding and cover printing is absolutely shoddy. Very highly recommended and worth every penny of the forty dollar price.


Three year (June 2008) update on my 2005 review: Nothing yet comes close to the wide array of thought provoking questions that this book raises. I'm wildly speculating here, but the fact that one of the coauthors is an electrical engineer rather than a software developer is perhaps the reason why the nature of this book is so refreshing and original. Sometimes, it takes an outsider without the baggage of insider assumptions to bring a fresh perspective. At the new paperback price, it's better than a red-tagged bargain that you'd find at the aisle end caps of Target!

Complexity Simplified
The authors write with uncommon clarity about an industry known for its complexity. Even experienced software developers can get lost in the shifting tides of technology change that periodically sweep the software industry. This book provides a way to get above the waves, and see the whole ocean.

(...)

The authors elegantly write about the interdependency of technology infrastructure and applications. Their presentation of the "chicken-and-egg conundrum" was a little depressing. I had hoped my great "CycleFree Software" invention would revolutionize software infrastructure, but after reading this book I have decided to take up writing plays for children!

Recommended as the basic work on IT industry
Varian - Shapiro "Information rules" made it worldwide. Now comes - actually from UC Berkely again - a systematic work about the thingsmany people believe to understand.

Software creation is here seen in context of industry, govrnement and economy - not only business, not merely science.

Excellent reading to get the correct ideas behind the buzzwords. Very good for people, who already got the hunch of important changes happening from Castells (Network Society).

Must Reading for Anyone in Information Technology
Messerschmitt and Szyperski have collaborated on a unique book, that provides a snapshot of the software industry from many different vantage points at a time of rapid change in both technology (components and objected oriented programming) and business models (Internet as a channel).The different vantage points they use suggest a number of trends that the software industry will follow over the next decade that are far different from that in the popular trade press or business press.They highlight why software is different intrinsically from an economics vantage point: the first release of a software product can cost significant time and money, yet further copies take relatively little to no time or money to generate; the more copies of software in use, the more valuable the software can become; experience has shown that as the number of people increases to get software product releases done, it can take more time, not less, to finish the work.This book will be like a fine wine: as it ages, it should get better. ... Read more

Product Description
Increasingly, cracks are appearing in the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and landscapes to provide the goods and services that sustain our planet's well-being. The response from most quarters has been for "more of the same" that created the situation in the first place: more control, more intensification, and greater efficiency.



"Resilience thinking" offers a different way of understanding the world and a new approach to managing resources. It embraces human and natural systems as complex entities continually adapting through cycles of change, and seeks to understand the qualities of a system that must be maintained or enhanced in order to achieve sustainability. It explains why greater efficiency by itself cannot solve resource problems and offers a constructive alternative that opens up options rather than closing them down.



In Resilience Thinking, scientist Brian Walker and science writer David Salt present an accessible introduction to the emerging paradigm of resilience. The book arose out of appeals from colleagues in science and industry for a plainly written account of what resilience is all about and how a resilience approach differs from current practices. Rather than complicated theory, the book offers a conceptual overview along with five case studies of resilience thinking in the real world. It is an engaging and important work for anyone interested in managing risk in a complex world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Interesting take on env. mgmt.
I bought this book for a class on sustainable development systems.I haven't quite finished it cover to cover (yet), but I like the way that the authors ask readers to consider sustainability and environmental management by building into the system the ability to adapt to changes.I would recommend this book to others interested in thinking about change in systems.

A Resilient Introduction
This short book is an excellent introduction to resilience thinking. The core texts in this field tend to be rather daunting compendiums (see Gunderson and Holling's Panarchy) that only the already committed will read. This is a light introduction to the basic ideas and has lovely and useful case studies woven in. The core ideas of resilience thinking come from work in ecological systems theory over the past thirty years or so and are an application of work on complex adaptive systems. A key point is that natural and economic systems can only be understood and managed if their codependence is made explicit. Basic concepts such as regime (a set of connected stable states), threshold (boundaries between regimes) and the adaptation cycle (growth -> accumulation -> release -> reorganization) are well explained. The case studies cover The Florida Everglades, The Goulburn-Broken Catchment area in Australia, Coral Reefs in the Caribbean, the Northern Highland Lake District in Wisconsin and the Kristianstads Vattenrike Wetlands in Sweden. All of these cases come up frequently in conversations on resilience and are good touch points.

I expect to see applications of resilience thinking to many areas beyond ecology and resource management over the next decade: it is widely relevant to organizational theory and urban planning. It will be one input to a new syntheses that replaces our current and obsolete economic theory.

One small caveat, the book has some well done illustrations but the quality of the photos is dreadful.

A very accessible book
A very accessible book as an introduction to concepts of resilience.Nice use fo case studies which means that an educated layman can get the concepts, and see them applied.I'll be buying several copies as gifts this year for this express purpose.

Todd Davies
www.resilientfutures.org

Resilience in the environment
This is a fascinating and very timely book. Easy to read and understand with many examples from real life.
Makes one understand why the serious problems in our world's environment will not go away unless we fix them. And some very practical ways to do that.

Resilience in a nutshell and put simply
Brian Walker, Program Director Resilience Alliance and a scientist with the CSIRO. Canberra Australia, has, with the assistance of science writer David Salt, written the best and most straightforward work on ecological resilience entirely suitable for a wide audience of readers; activists, teachers, scientists from any number of disciplines, interested in gaining a familiarity with a study area that is of critical importance in this present world of catastrophe, forever changing with the calamitous onset of climate change and where stategies of adaptation are quite indequate mechanisms for survival in the white-water world we will have to navigate.

It is not a scientific treatise but a work from which allinterested readers will benefit substantially no matter what their backgroundor credentials. This is a twentyfirst century production coauthored with a skilledscience writer and a model for any NGO or scientific group who wish to influence and inform policy makers with something they can readiliy understand.. Resilience capability and building such capacity is perhaps the best, but still uncertain, way to buffer social-ecological systems--your everyday environment--from unpredictable, disastrous events and accompanying change. Adaptation and models based on orthodox science are unfortunatelyinadequate to meet such crises. I recommend this book to any concerned person no matter their level of understanding. They will find something new and enlightening here.
... Read more

Product Description

Completely revised, updated, and now with color photographs and illustrations in every chapter, The Everglades Handbook provides a breadth and depth of information on the entire ecosystem of the Everglades that cannot be found anywhere else. Written by Thomas Lodge, one of the most respected authorities on the Everglades and one of its most ardent protectors, the book is an updated, expanded, and comprehensive explanation of what the Everglades is, how it has been changed, and the restoration needed to bring back ecological functions and safeguard sustainable future uses of the region by people. 

Expanded and updated coverage in the third edition includes:

• Caloosahatchee/Charlotte Harbor ecosystem
• Kissimmee headwaters, including the chain of lakes near Orlando
• St. Lucie/Indian River estuary
• Impact of invasive species on various south Florida ecosystems
• Sustainable agriculture relative to the Everglades ecosystem and other south Florida areas
• Progress and impacts of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
• New chapter entitled Peripheral Ecosystems of the Everglades

This edition maintains Lodge's trademark style, making the book appealing to students, the general public, scientists, and managers. A bestseller in each edition since its publication in 1994, this is quite possibly the most attractive, readable science book available on the Everglades.

Customer Reviews (6)

A welcome, professional addition to college library and environmental studies shelves
Now in an updated third edition, The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem is an exhaustive, scholarly reference packed cover to cover with scientific information about the ecosystem of the Everglades - taking into account how drastically the Everglades has changed, and how it can be restored and safeguarded to promote sustainable use. Full-color photography illustrates the extensively researched text. The new third edition includes information about agriculture in historic Everglades lands, the latest information about and difficulties with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and a brand new chapter titled "Peripheral Ecosystems of the Everglades". A welcome, professional addition to college library and environmental studies shelves.

Essential book to understanding Everglades
Excellent book, readable for both Environmental text or average person wanting to understand a unique ecosystem that is the Everglades.

The book starts out with a quote that reads "In the end, we conserve only what we love.We love only what we understand.We understand only what we are taught."

Reading this book will fill in the missing pieces of understanding needed to appreciate...and thus love....the Everglades.

Essential resource
Having enjoyed the prior edition of this book, I was delighted to receive the Third Edition which is even better with marvellous photos and graphics.This is essential reading for anybody trying to understand the challenges we face in restoring this unique ecosystem.The text is well writtten and reflects the author's scientific studies as well as his passion for the River of Grass.It is also an excellent source of information about the fauna and flora of the Everglades. it is delightful to browse through prior to a trip to Florida.

Satisfactory
I hae been reading several pages in this book so far for my enviromental science class.I have found the pages very helpful in understanding the Everglades enviroment.

A Wonderful Guide to Understanding the Everglades
As an environmental consultant, I found the first edition of The Everglades Handbook to be very useful, and the second edition even better!There are new chapters and very important new information, such as the new chapters on the Big Cypress Swamp, Lake Okeechobee, and "Synthesis" with its diagrams of succession and food chains, and the updated final chapter with details of human history in South Florida.I especially looked forward to the updated information on the Everglades restoration - it was excellent.The new edition is well worth the price (I heard that CRC Press reduced the price by 10%!).I can't recommend this book more highly for those people wanting to become familiar with how the Everglades works as an ecosystem. ... Read more

Product Description

This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers.

The authors provide an inclusive survey of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests with an emphasis on ecological concepts across scales that range from global to landscape to microscopic. Situating forests in the context of larger landscapes, they reveal the complex patterns and processes observed in tree-dominated habitats.

The updated and expanded second edition covers

• Conservation• Ecosystem services • Climate change• Vegetation classification• Disturbance• Species interactions• Self-thinning• Genetics• Soil influences• Productivity• Biogeochemical cycling• Mineralization• Effects of herbivory• Ecosystem stability

Customer Reviews (3)

Indispensable...
I recently took a class in which this book was used as the primary text. I found it to be an outstanding and indispensable tool which will be an ongoing resource for years to come in my quest for a working and applied knowledge of forest science. The authors systematically weave together the essential principles and concepts of empirical research informed by thoughtful integration of present environmental concerns, giving the reader a deep appreciation and awareness of the interconnected "web" of ecosystems, implications for sustainability, and the incredible vitality and vulnerability of planet earth. I was left with a greater sense of personal responsibility and awe, and am inspired to continue my quest to be a life-long student of earth sciences. Obvious mastery of content by it's authors; Perry, Hart and Oren, from detailed analysis to global implications, place the book on a level of importance for students and working scientists that will cause it to be pulled from the shelf for reference time and time again.

Outstanding Book!!!
Perry, Oren and Hart have produced a smashing second edition Forest Ecosystem book. It it very well written and leads the reader from basic terminology into the forests of the world, climates and change over time. I especially enjoyed the chapters on disturbance in forest ecosystems as it relates to composition and structure. The chapter on biodiversity and how to maintain it -- is crucial. The book covers a number of other essential topics including genetics, soil, primary productivity, forest nutrition and nutrient cycling. I found the three cases studies to be well laid-out and concisely explained. The last chapter of the book - The Future is exceptional. Forest Ecosystems is a MUST read for all foresters, resource managers and conservation biologists. It's a book that will live long and prosper on many book shelves. Well done! Dr Reese Halter, Global Forest Science.

Great Reference
If you're looking for a detailed overview of how the forest ecosystem works, this is a great reference.Perry covers soil, nutrients, forest dynamics, etc.If you are new to the sciences, Perry does a good job of explaining key terms.This book is geared more towards science-minded people, but the material is broad enough for anyone interested in the forest. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

the book is torn!
The book you sent to me is torn and I want to launch a complaint

Valuable Framework and Best Practices
Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems presents a case for locally driven processes that model cities along the principles of ecosystems, and to integrate cities within bioregions. Newman and Jennings organize the book by the ten Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities. The Melbourne Principles were developed at an international charrette sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Each chapter of Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems - the authors call it CASE - discusses one of the Melbourne Principles and describes strategies to achieve them. The authors present a comprehensive overview of all aspects of sustainability, backed by extensive research and best practice examples around the world.

As a description of principles and a compendium of practices, I found the book at times somewhat a dense read. On the other hand, my tenacity was rewarded by a good framework for understanding city sustainability, and by many inspiring efforts. Of particular interest to me is the idea and methods for basing human societies and settlements on the characteristics of sustainable ecosystems: healthy (e.g. use of solar energy, cycling of matter), zero waste, self-regulation, resilience and self-renewal, and flexibility. Newman and Jennings do a good job of applying these characteristics to cities in a practical way. They build on these characteristics to discuss cities as clusters of eco-villages within bioregions.

I read books first from the library to save my money for those I think will be valuable over time. Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems is one I bought.

Good introduction to a new "school of thought"
I used this book as one of two texts for "Introduction to Urban Ecosystems".It presents an important new perspective on viewing cities.As such, I would also assign other readings on the chapter topics.
I reviewed many potential texts for my class and this one covered the topics that I thought were important.For the class, I used the Melbourne principles as a premise that served the topic well.

Skims the surface of a deeper topic
This book comes across as presenting in-depth information on creating sustainability within cities by utilizing a systems approach. Instead, what it is is a long restatement of "the Ten Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities", a set of principles developed at a conference held in Melbourne, Australia. All of the principles are covered in the introduction. The authors then rehash them in ten chapters incorporating a lot of naivete along the way.

One theme that keeps recurring in the book is the idea that indigenous cultures are more aware than other cultures of the importance of preserving the ecosystems on which they depend. This is a good example of "survivor bias". The authors pay attention to cultures that have survived, ignoring all the failed indigenous cultures. They are also making a misleading statement about these cultures by suggesting their practices were such that they would have continued on had they not been interrupted by Europeans.

The authors give some broad, non-science based introductions to topics like resilience, panarchy, and ecosystems, going so far as to misrepresent an ecosystem as some sort of smoothly running conflict-free process. Nature is cutthroat. It is unforgiving to elements that are causing problems. It is not the sort of place where the members are focused on "Fostering a sense of joy and belonging through rituals and celebrations following natural cycles" (p.47). Unless, of course, you see a bear taking down a moose then killing any animal that tries to interfere with his meal a joyful celebration.

On the bright side, I think this book provides a lot of introductory information and some good references on the topics it addresses. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent book for Florida Master Naturalist Students
I was introduced to this amazing book while taking Florida Master Naturalist classes through the extension service of the University of Florida. This is an excellent book if you ever wanted to understand the complex divisions and explanations of the ecosystems of Florida. Well written and very approachable for all levels of study.

Recommended for Florida Master Naturalists
Ecosystems of Florida formed the basis for the Florida Master Naturalist program. I recently completed all three modules, and found this book very helpful in expanding the information taught in class. Unfortunately, it is overdue for revision, but the core data has not changed. The classroom slide shows and videos are helpful, and it pays to find a good instructor (I highly recommend Steve Bass, if you live in Southeast Florida), but if you want to delve deeper into the material, this book is the place. Also recommended is "Priceless Florida."

THE Indispensible guide to the ecology of Florida
For more than a decade, 'Ecosystems of Florida' has become the standard by which all other books on Florida's unique ecology are judged.The flora, fauna, soil, climate, and hydrological characteristics of all of Floridasecosystems are explained in exhaustive yet accessible detail.The bookalso has general information about the soil, climate, and geologicalhistory of Florida that helps the reader explore the ecosytem chapters witha broader understanding of the ecology of the state as a whole.Concludingchapters tie in the influence of people to the history of Florida's ecologyand explain the role people will take in shaping or breaking Florida'snatural areas in the future.This book has become more than a reference tome.It presents a very complex set of information in a clear, easily-read,and entertaining format that makes it hard to put down. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Product Description
Covering the complexities and interconnected nature of the world, as well as the impact of mankind on the environment, this interdisciplinary book presents a holistic view of ecosystem function and is designed to help students understand and predict the environmental future of the Earth. The authors provide a complete view of the environment--from the Taiga Forests of interior Alaska to the desert plains of the Serengeti. While retaining the previous edition's basic four-part structure, the authors have reviewed every topic (and consulted the recent literature in each case) in order to present the most complete and accurate picture of the state of ecosystem studies today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

buy the new edition
This is a great book but you should buy the second edition (hardback) which is more up to date and has color artwork in places. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Detailed discussion of collaborative ecosystem restoration projects

This edited book provides fifteen chapters of five large-scale ecosystem projects: the Everglades, Platte River, Sacramento Delta, Chesapeake Bay, and the Upper Mississippi River.As you may have noticed, those are all rivers and/or estuaries.On the one hand, this provides a nice balance to the terrestrial bias of most such studies, which have focused on the Quincy Library Project, the Greater Yellowstone Area, and similar topics.On the other hand, it would be nice if the authors had drawn out the comparisons to terrestrial projects - - do rivers and estuaries present essentially similar problems, or fundamentally different ones?

Many of these kinds of books are dominated by biologists who have come to the economic, legal and political issues only because they had to.The lead authors here, and several contributors, are lawyers; a couple others are economists or engineers.This provides a very different perspective, one in which cooperative agreements and engineering solutions play a more prominent role.I wish they had confronted this perspective directly, recognizing both its strengths and weaknesses.The absence of political scientists or sociologists in the project also shapes its relative inattention to political feasibility and the effects of ecosystem restoration on human communities.

As a result, the authors are rather too enamored of legal frameworks, collaborative boards, and other kinds of committee work.While they discuss some specific actions taken, they rarely evaluate those actions or ask whether better approaches might exist.Since all of these ecosystems remain in crisis, it's certainly plausible to argue that the collaborative approaches are not effective ecologically even if they are politically effective in giving everybody some goodies.

The book is useful if you want a lot of detail on these cases, and extensive citations to the literature.However, they are too detailed for the general reader.

... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great planner for students or professionals
I got this planner to replace my pocket academic planner.It is a small planner - not great if you write a lot for each day, but great if you like to take it with you and want to travel light.

I am very pleased with this planner.For starters, it is made in the USA of recycled paper and uses plant-based inks.The covers are flexible, yet sturdy and the binding seems fine (though I personally prefer spirals since they can lie flat - this has a "book" binding and does not stay open).I love that the corners are rounded and that it has an elastic band to hold it closed - since I put it in my purse and backpack, it will not get as damaged.As a bonus, it also has a fabric ribbon marker to mark the current page, instead of using other methods to keep track of the week.

This (2011) calender has a two-page 2011 as well as a two-page 2012 overview (with no space to write anything).I then has monthly views showing two months on a page for January 2011-December 2012.Next are a few pages of extras including a travel log, US time-zone map, websites for airlines and others, world time-zone map, international dialing codes US & Canada area codes, website log and conversions.There are then weekly pages with a notes page for every week from June 28, 2010 through January 1, 2012.There are then a few pages for notes and the back cover has a pocket to add the companies extra insert pages or put some business cards in.There is also a code that you can register on their website in case your planner gets lost.

I am very impressed with the included holidays shown in the planner.It has just about every US, Canadian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim holiday I know of as well as others (for example, Tish B'Av and Muhammad's birthday, just to name two).

I would recommend this for anyone needing a financial or academic year calendar, as you have the bonus of being able to plan ahead six-months in the weekly section and a year and a half in the monthly section.I think it would also be great as a calendar year planner with a six-month "history" in the weekly section and a full year in the monthly section.If you like to write a lot for each day, then I recommend either bigger size or the horizontal weekly view that does not include the notes page for every week. ... Read more