Kategoria BISAC: Nature >> Plants - Trees

Wood is one of the most intriguing structural materials and the only one that is truly renewable. Along with stone, wood is the oldest structural material on the planet and has been extensively used throughout human history. Due to its aesthetical value and positive environmental impact, wood has experienced a renaissance in construction.

As a biodegradable, hygroscopic, non-isotropic material, wood presents special challenges for a professional and requires through knowledge ranging from biology to continuum mechanics.

This state-of-the-art report reflects the current...

The plant fossil record provides evidence that the genus Metasequoia was widely distributed and experienced a wide range of climatic and environmental conditions throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the early Late Cretaceous to the Plio-Pleistocene. Today the genus is limited to one species with approximately 5,000 mature individuals growing in the Xiahoe Valley in southeastern China. This book is a distillation of the collective efforts and results of the world s Metasequoia specialists and enthusiasts. It is the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference source for the genus and the...

Biodiversity is decreasing at the fastest rate in the history of the earth, largely as a result of human activity. The sustainable use of ecosystems allowing maintenance of biological diversity is an urgent problem that must be solved. Among terrestrial ecosystems, forests support the richest biological diversity. The interaction of humans and forests has a long history, but recent changes have been the most drastic ever. The rapid decrease and deterioration of forest ecosystems has been caused by social, economic, and ecological factors, which may vary locally but are common globally. The...

With more than half of the world's population now living in urban areas, it is vitally important that towns and cities are healthy places to live. The principal aim of this book is to synthesize the disparate literature on the use of vegetation in the built environment and its multifunctional benefits to humans. The author reviews issues such as: contact with wildlife and its immediate and long-term effects on psychological and physical wellbeing; the role of vegetation in removing health-damaging pollutants from the air; green roofs and green walls, which provide insulation, reduce energy...

Once considered the antithesis of a verdant and vibrant ecosystem, cities are now being hailed as highly efficient and complex social ecological systems. Emerging from the streets of the post-industrial city are well-tended community gardens, rooftop farms and other viable habitats capable of supporting native flora and fauna. At the forefront of this transformation are the citizens living in the cities themselves. As people around the world increasingly relocate to urban areas, this book discusses how they engage in urban stewardship and what civic participation in the environment means...

Plant-driven volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions play a major role in atmospheric chemistry, including ozone and photochemical smog formation in the troposphere, and they extend the atmospheric lifetime of the key greenhouse gas, methane. Furthermore, condensation of photo-oxidation products of BVOCs leads to formation of secondary organic aerosols with profound implications for the earth's solar radiation budget and climate. Trees represent the plant life form that most contributes to BVOC emissions, which gives global forests a unique role in regulating atmospheric...

A genuine marker tree is a rare find--only six of these natural and cultural treasures have been officially documented in Texas and recognized by the Comanche Nation. The latter third of the book highlights the characteristics of these six marker trees and gives an...

This book discusses the basic physiological processes that determine the growth of plants, the way they are affected by...

This book, first published in 1967, presents a concise picture of the demand and supply trends of timber around the world. Zivnuska provides a keen analysis of plans, prospects, and opportunities in the areas covered, and an interesting look at the North American forest economy. This book will be of interest to students of environmental studies and forestry.

Plants can hear--and taste things, too

Thoroughly updated from root to leaf, this revised edition of the groundbreaking What a Plant Knows includes new revelations for lovers of all that is vegetal and verdant. The renowned biologist Daniel Chamovitz builds on the original edition to present an intriguing look at how plants themselves experience the world--from the colors they see to the schedules they keep, and now, what they do in fact hear and how they are able to taste. A rare inside look at what life is really like for the grass we walk on, the flowers we...