Human Impact Reader

ISBN-13: 9780631199816 / Angielski / Miękka / 1997 / 496 str.

Andrew Goudie; David Alexander

Opis

This is a multidisciplinary collection of thirty nine key articles concerned with the human impact on the natural environment.

Recenzje

"The reader will gain a broader knowledge of ecology, a greater appreciation for research efforts, and better understand the complexities underlying present environmental problems from reading this interesting compendium." Margaret A. Aycock, Lamar University

Spis treści

Preface: The Human Impact: A Developing Literature.

Acknowledgements.

Part I: Geomorphological and Surface Impacts: Introduction.

1. Man′s Impact on Shorelines and Nearshore Environments: A Geomorphological Perspective: H. J. Walker.

2. Land Subsidence: A Worldwide Environmental Hazard: L. Carbognin.

3. Reservoirs and Earthquakes: R. B. Meade.

4. Human Influence Upon Sedimentation in Llangorse Lake, Wales: R. Jones, K. Benson–Evans and F. M. Chambers.

5. Soil Conservation in the Coon Creek Basin, Wisconsin: S. W. Trimble and S. W. Lund.

Part II: Soil Impacts: Introduction.

6. Framework for Man–Made Soil Changes – an Outline of Metapedogenesis: D. H. Yaalon and B. Yaron.

7. Salinization: New Perspectives on a Major Desertification Issue: D. S. G. Thomas and N. J. Middleton.

8. Salinization of Non–Irrigated Soils and Associated Streams: A Review: A. J. Peck.

9. Land Use and Soil Erosion in Prehistoric and Historical Greece: T. H. Van Andel and E. Zangger.

10. Soil Erosion in Britain: A Review: J. Boardman and R. Evans.

Part III: Water Impacts: Introduction.

11. Desiccation of the Aral Sea: A Water Management Disaster in the Soviet Union: P. P. Micklin.

12. Lowering of a Shallow, Saline Water Table by Extensive Eucalypt Reforestation: M. A. Bari and N. J. Schofield.

13. Nutrient Loss Accelerated by Clear–Cutting of a Forest Ecosystem: F. H. Bormann, G. E. Likens, D. W. Fisher and R. S. Fisher.

14. Effects of Construction on Fluvial Sediment, Urban and Suburban Areas of Maryland: M. G. Wolman and A. P. Schick.

15. Rain, Roads, Roof and Runoff: Hydrology in Cities: G. E. Hollis.

16. Farming and Nitrate Pollution: T. P. Burt and N. E. Haycock.

17. Diatom and Chemical Evidence for Reversibility of Acidification of Scottish Lochs: R. W. Battarbee, R. J. Flower, A. C. Stevenson, V. J. Jones, R. Harrison and P. G. Appleby.

18. Lake Acidification in Galloway: A Palaeoecological Test of Competing Hypotheses: R. W. Battarbee, R. J. Flower, A. C. Stevenson and B. Rippey.

Part IV: Climatic and Atmospheric Impacts: Introduction.

19. Man–Made Climatic Changes: H. E. Landsberg.

20. Climatic Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: J. Hansen, D. Johnson, A. Lacis, S. Lededeff, P. Lee and G. Russell.

21. Atmospheric Methane: Trends over the Last 10,000 Years: M. A. K. Khalil and R. A. Rasmussen.

22. Possible Climatic Change due to Sulphur Dioxide–Derived Cloud Condensation Nuclei: T. M. L. Wigley.

23. Possible Climatic Impacts of Tropical Deforestation: E. Salati and C. N. Nobre.

24. Large Losses of Total Ozone in Antarctica Reveal Seasonal C1Ox/NOx Interactions: J. C. Farman, B. G. Gardener and J. D. Sharklin.

25. Chlorofluorocarbons and the Depletion of Stratospheric Ozone: F. S. Rowland.

26. Biomass Burning in the Tropics: Impacts on Atmospheric Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles: P. J. Crutzen and M. O. Andrea.

27. Acid Rain: A Serious Regional Environmental Problem: G. E. Likens and F. H. Bormann.

28. Decrease in Anthropogenic Lead, Cadmium and Zinc in Greenland Snows Since the Late 1960s: C. F. Boutron, U. Gorlach, J. P. Candelone, M. A. Bolshow and R. J. Delmas.

Part V: Biological Impacts: Introduction.

29. Habitat Fragmentation in the Temperate Zone: D. S. Wilcove, C. H. McLellan, and A. P. Dobson.

30. The Effects of Deforestation in Amazonia: H. Sioli.

31. Rates of Deforestation in the Humid Tropics: Estimates and Measurements: A. Grainger.

32. Wetland Loss in Louisiana: H. J. Walker, J. M. Coleman, H. H. Roberts and R. S. Tye.

33. Coral Reefs – A Challenging Ecosystem for Human Societies: B. Salvat.

34. Is Desertification a Myth?: T. Binns.

35. Large Herbivorous Mammals: Exotic Species in Northern Australia: W. J. Freeland.

36. Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and Eggshell Changes in Raptorial and Fish–Eating Birds: J. J. Hickey and O. W. Anderson.

37. Forest Decline and Acidic Deposition: L. F. Pitelka and D. J. Raynal.

38. The Biodiversity Challenge: Expanded Hotspots Analysis: N. Myers.

Part VI: Conclusion: Introduction.

39. The Human Species: A Suicidal Success: C. Tickell.

Index.

O autorze

Andrew Goudie is Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford, where he is also a pro–Vice–Chancellor. His previous books include Environmental Change, The Human Impact on the Environment, The Nature of the Environment, and The Changing Earth.

Blurb

This is a multidisciplinary collection of thirty–nine key articles concerned with the human impact on the natural environment. It is divided into six thematic parts, each introduced by the editor. It is designed to be used in university courses on environmental analysis and management, either on its own or in conjunction with Andrew Goudie′s standard text, The Human Impact on the Natural Environment (fifth edition, 2000).

Environmental change directly attributable to human action dates back at least 10,000 years, but has become increasingly significant following urbanization, industrialization, agricultural intensification, and the exponential growth in human population. It is now a central concern not only of many scientific disciplines, but of governments, business, international organizations, and the public at large.

Deforestation has reduced the diversity of species. Local and trans–national air and water pollution have damaged health and agricultural productivity. Overfishing has reduced the stocks of many species to below the level of, at best, short–term recovery. Dams and river diversions have provided irrigation at the cost of salinification and the downstream desiccation – including the virtual loss of the Aral Sea. Fossil fuel omissions have contributed to global warming, among whose likely consequences are the desertification of many temperate regions and the loss of huge areas of land to the sea. These are among the topics to which scientists in this book address themselves.

The consequences of the human impact on the environment present the planet′s dominant species with perhaps its most intransigent and complex problems. The Human Impact Reader is a wide–ranging and stimulating resource for the study and understanding of contemporary environmental processes at local, regional and global scales.