Environmental Issues in the Mediterranean : Processes and Perspectives from the Past and Present

ISBN-13: 9780415156868 / Angielski / Twarda / 2003 / 512 str.

J. B. Thornes; John Wainwright

Opis

This volume reviews both physical and social aspects of this region, in relation to its environment. The Mediterranean has been subject to changing human settlement and land use patterns for millennia, and has a history of human exploitation in an inherently unstable landscape. It has been at the centre of vast empires since before Roman times, and is still frequently affected by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It is characterized and set apart from other areas by the presence of the Mediterranean Sea and its current environmental problems can have social and economic impacts for, or common to, the whole region. An introduction to the Mediterranean region, its history, physical and human geography and its environmental problems is given.

Recenzje

'...this book covers a very wide range of material relating to environmental issues in the Mediterranean countries.'
'...this is a work of massive and often authoritative scholarship...[and] will providea benchmark for years to come.' -both Chris Hunt (Holocene 14)

Spis treści

1. Introduction 2. The Geological Setting 3. The Mediterranean Climate and its Evolution 4. Vegetation 5. The Hydrological Cycle of the Basin and its Watershed 6. Erosion Processes 7. Fire 8. The Mediterranean Sea 9. Background to Prehistoric and Historic Land Use 10. Traditional Land-Use Patterns 1:Agriculture 11. Traditional Land-Use Patterns 2:Rural Settlement 12. Traditional Land-Use Patterns 3:Urban settlement 13. Traditional Land-Use Patterns 4:Use of Mineral resourses 14. The Present Human Landscape 15. Agricultural Changes in the Twentieth Century 16. The Impact of Depopulation 17. Pollution 18. Water Resources 19. Desertification 20. Potential Climatic Change and its Effects 21. Key Issues for Mitigation

O autorze

John B. Thornes, John Wainwright