Showing 1–12 of 134 results
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Learning from Agri-Environment Schemes in Australia: Investing in Biodiversity and other Ecosystem Services on Farms
Artist/Author: Ansell, Dean, Fiona Gibson, David Salt (Editors)$55.00 Add to cartLearning from Agri-Environment Schemes in Australia is a book about the birds and the beef — more specifically it is about the billions of dollars that governments pay farmers around the world each year to protect and restore biodiversity. After more than two decades of these schemes in Australia, what have we learnt? Are we getting the most out of these investments, and how should we do things differently in the future? Involving contributions from ecologists, economists, social scientists, restoration practitioners and policymakers, this book provides short, engaging chapters that cover a wide spectrum of environmental, agricultural and social issues involved in agri-environment schemes.
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Islands and Snakes: Isolation and Adaptive Evolution
Artist/Author: Lillywhite, Harvey B, Marcio Martins (Editors)$185.00 Add to cartIslands and Snakes contains 13 chapters describing ecological systems with foci on snakes and their ecological roles on islands around the world. Each chapter is written by one or more authors who is an authority on that particular system. Summaries of research on the various islands are written in a narrative manner that includes science as well as personal insights in easily understood language. These varied vignettes of science feature islands around the world, and in all cases, fantastic species of snakes and their roles in the community of insular organisms in which they occur. Both challenges and opportunities associated with island life are discussed, as well as the unique attributes of snakes and their conservation as unique and important parts of nature. Chapters include colorful photographs and illustrations, and collectively they convey information on topics that include ecology, behavior, biogeography, physiology, adaptation, and evolutionary biology. An introductory chapter presents a review and perspective on the historical importance of island ecology and how snakes have contributed to our understanding of evolution and adaptation. The other chapters focus on snakes inhabiting islands associated with Asia, Australia, South America, North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. The final chapter features the unique “table top islands” or tepuis of South America as examples of ecological islands where elements of biota have become isolated by geographic features of landscape similarly to oceanic islands.
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The Secret Network of Nature: The Delicate Balance of All Living Things
Artist/Author: Wohlleben, Peter$33.00 Add to cartDid you know that trees can influence the rotation of the earth? Or that wolves can alter the course of a river? Or that earthworms control wild boar populations?
The natural world is a web of intricate connections, many of which go unnoticed by humans. But it is these connections that maintain nature’s finely balanced equilibrium.
Drawing on the latest scientific discoveries and decades of experience as a forester and bestselling author, Peter Wohlleben shows us how different animals, plants, rivers, rocks and weather systems cooperate, and what’s at stake when these delicate systems are unbalanced.The earth’s ecosystems are too complex for us to compartmentalise and draw up simple rules of cause and effect; but The Secret Network of Nature gives us a chance to marvel at the inner workings and unlikely partnerships of the natural world, where every entity has its own distinct purpose. And the more light that is shed on relationships between species, the more fascinating nature’s web becomes.
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Bush Heritage Australia: Restoring Nature Step by Step
Artist/Author: Martin, Sarah$40.00 Add to cartWith a plan to own or manage one per cent of Australia by 2025, Bush Heritage Australia is an organisation with big ambitions.
Started by Bob Brown in 1991, Bush Heritage was born from an urgent mission: to protect pristine land from logging. After buying two blocks of land in Tasmania’s Liffey Valley, Brown built a philanthropic organisation to help pay for them. As donations flowed in and the organisation grew, Bush Heritage set its sights on acquiring tracts of land across the country, repairing environmental degradation and bringing native plants and wildlife back to health.
Twenty-five years later, with more than one million hectares in its care, Bush Heritage’s achievements are celebrated in this book along with its growth from humble beginnings into a large non-profit with benefactors all over the world. Central to this story are the ecologists, researchers, land managers, local Indigenous groups, staff, donors and a brigade of volunteers who have helped the organisation to thrive.
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Fire Effects on Soil Properties
Artist/Author: Pereira, Paulo, Jorge Mataix-Solera, Xavier Úbeda, Guillermo Rein, Artemi Cerdà (Editors)$195.00 Add to cartBrings together research on the effects of fire on the physical, biological and chemical properties of soil.
Wildland fires are occurring more frequently and affecting more of Earth’s surface than ever before. These fires affect the properties of soils and the processes by which they form, but the nature of these impacts has not been well understood. Given that healthy soil is necessary to sustain biodiversity, ecosystems and agriculture, the impact of fire on soil is a vital field of research. -
World’s Most Endangered
Artist/Author: McCallum, Sophie$30.00 Add to cartA new book that highlights the plight of critically endangered species, as classified by the WWF and IUCN. It focuses on 25 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, presenting each account in an interesting and informative way, with colour photographs and a fact panel giving key information.Animals covered include famous species such as South China Tiger, Mountain Gorilla, Pangolin, Leatherback Turtle and California Condor, together with lesser-known animals in peril, such as the Lemur Leaf Frog, Geometric Tortoise and Red Wolf. Each written account provides insight into the lives of these species, including details of their behaviour and habitat, the threats they face and the conservation efforts being made to ensure their survival. Existing books on endangered species tend to either concentrate on one animal, or are heavily academic, or are focused directly at children. This title, which is a handy size, gives an entertaining and engaging take on the subject, and is ideal for either reading right the way through or just dipping into one chapter at a time. It makes the perfect read for anyone with an interest in the natural world.
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Lake Eyre Basin Rivers: Environmental, Social and Economic Importance
Artist/Author: Kingsford, Richard (Editor)$60.00 Add to cartOutlines the environmental, social and economic values of the rivers from a diverse range of perspectives.
Water is scarce in the Lake Eyre Basin in the heart of Australia. The region goes through natural cycles of boom and bust, and the flooding of the basin rivers is accompanied by spectacular responses from wildlife and vegetation. However, the Lake Eyre Basin faces the threat of diversion of water from rivers and wetlands and development of floodplains for irrigation and mining. Around the world, such water resource developments have caused widespread degradation of rivers and loss of habitats.
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Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (Second Edition)
Artist/Author: Keddy, Paul A.$100.00 Add to cartRichly illustrated and packed with numerous examples, this unique global perspective introduces wetland ecology from basic principles to advanced applications. Thoroughly revised and reorganised, this new edition of this prize-winning textbook begins with underlying causal factors, before moving on to more advanced concepts that add depth and context. Each chapter begins with an explanation of the basic principles covered, illustrated with clear examples. More difficult concepts and exceptions are introduced only once the general principle is well-established. Key principles are now discussed at the beginning of the book, and in order of relative importance, enabling students to understand the most important material without wading through complex theory. New chapters on wetland restoration and wetland services draw upon practical examples from around the world, providing a global context, and a new chapter on research will be particularly relevant to the advanced student planning their own studies.
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Swamp: Nature and Culture
Artist/Author: Wilson, Anthony$35.00 Add to cartThroughout history, swamps have been idealised and demonised, purged and protected. They are considered to be places of evil, pestilence, and death, as well as diverse ecosystems teeming with life. They can be obstacles to development and remnants of fading cultures. Distillations of pure wildness, with menacing morasses and fragile wetlands, swamps have fascinated, terrified, frustrated, and sustained us throughout human history.
From swamps and bogs to marshes and wetlands, Swamp ventures into the cultural and ecological histories of these mysterious, mythologised, and misunderstood landscapes. It ranges from the freshwater marshes of Botswana’s tremendous Okavango Delta, to the notable swamps between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the peat bogs in Russia, the British Isles, and Scandinavia. It explores ideas and representations of wetlands across centuries, cultures, and continents, considering legend and folklore, mythology, literature, film, and natural and cultural history. As it plumbs the murky depths of their complex relationship with people all over the world, from the distant past to the uncertain future, Swamp provides an engaging, informative, and lavishly illustrated journey into these fascinating and mysterious landscapes.
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Species Conservation: Lessons from Islands
Artist/Author: Copsey, Jamieson A. (Editor), Simon A Black (Editor), Jim J Groombridge (Editor), Carl G Jones (Editor)$151.00 Add to cartThis book brings together leading conservation practitioners to reflect on their response to the current global biodiversity crisis, through the lens of island species recovery and management. Initial chapters cover the biological understanding of small population biology and the growing threat of invasive species, while subsequent chapters discuss the management of these threats and the complexity of leading projects within a dynamic and still relatively unknown system. Multiple case studies from islands worldwide illustrate key points, allowing readers to draw on the first-hand practical experience of experienced professionals. This resource will be invaluable to both current and future conservation professionals, helping them to go beyond disciplinary ‘comfort zones’ and develop, manage and lead projects over extensive timeframes in a way that brings others with them on the journey. Also available in paperback (Stock ID 17350)
- Presents cross-disciplinary discussion of how to run effective conservation projects, enabling readers to reflect on the multiple components of projects and how they impact each other
- Actual case studies from specific islands give a novel and practical perspective which readers will find useful for informing their own planning
- Brings together the reflections and experience of leading conservation practitioners in one volume
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Species Conservation: Lessons from Islands
Artist/Author: Copsey, Jamieson A. (Editor), Simon A Black (Editor), Jim J Groombridge (Editor), Carl G Jones (Editor)$60.00 Add to cartThis book brings together leading conservation practitioners to reflect on their response to the current global biodiversity crisis, through the lens of island species recovery and management. Initial chapters cover the biological understanding of small population biology and the growing threat of invasive species, while subsequent chapters discuss the management of these threats and the complexity of leading projects within a dynamic and still relatively unknown system. Multiple case studies from islands worldwide illustrate key points, allowing readers to draw on the first-hand practical experience of experienced professionals. This resource will be invaluable to both current and future conservation professionals, helping them to go beyond disciplinary ‘comfort zones’ and develop, manage and lead projects over extensive timeframes in a way that brings others with them on the journey. Also available in hard cover (Stock ID 17352)
- Presents cross-disciplinary discussion of how to run effective conservation projects, enabling readers to reflect on the multiple components of projects and how they impact each other
- Actual case studies from specific islands give a novel and practical perspective which readers will find useful for informing their own planning
- Brings together the reflections and experience of leading conservation practitioners in one volume
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Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay: Portraits of Earth’s Great Ecosystem
Artist/Author: McPhee, Daryl$70.00 Add to cartAn interdisciplinary examination of the geologic, marine and human history of Moreton Bay.
The south-east Queensland region is currently experiencing the most rapid urbanisation in Australia. This growth in human population, industry and infrastructure puts pressure on the unique and diverse natural environment of Moreton Bay. Much loved by locals and holiday-goers, Moreton Bay is also an important biogeographic region because its coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and saltmarshes provide a suitable environment for both tropical and temperate species. The bay supports a large number of species of global conservation significance, including marine turtles, dugongs, dolphins, whales and migratory shorebirds, which use the area for feeding or breeding.Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay provides an interdisciplinary examination of Moreton Bay, increasing understanding of existing and emerging pressures on the region and how these may be mitigated and managed. With chapters on the bay’s human uses by Aboriginal peoples and later European settlers, its geology, water quality, marine habitats and animal communities, and commercial and recreational fisheries, Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay will be of value to students in the marine sciences, environmental consultants, policy-makers and recreational fishers.
