Functional Roles of Biodiversity - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Functional Roles of Biodiversity write by Harold A. Mooney. This book was released on 1996. Functional Roles of Biodiversity available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Biodiversity refers to the three attributes of living environments: the variety of distinct ecosystems they contain; the number of species within them; and the range of genetic diversity within the populations of each of these species. This book presents a synthesis of ideas emerging from 15 biome-specific workshops exploring our current knowledge of the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes. The contributions offer an assessment of the consequences of human activities at the ecosystem level and provide an appropriate framework for making future policy decisions.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function write by Ernst-Detlef Schulze. This book was released on 2012-12-06. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The biota of the earth is being altered at an unprecedented rate. We are witnessing wholesale exchanges of organisms among geographic areas that were once totally biologically isolated. We are seeing massive changes in landscape use that are creating even more abundant succes sional patches, reductions in population sizes, and in the worst cases, losses of species. There are many reasons for concern about these trends. One is that we unfortunately do not know in detail the conse quences of these massive alterations in terms of how the biosphere as a whole operates or even, for that matter, the functioning of localized ecosystems. We do know that the biosphere interacts strongly with the atmospheric composition, contributing to potential climate change. We also know that changes in vegetative cover greatly influence the hydrology and biochemistry ofa site or region. Our knowledge is weak in important details, however. How are the many services that ecosystems provide to humanity altered by modifications of ecosystem composition? Stated in another way, what is the role of individual species in ecosystem function? We are observing the selective as well as wholesale alteration in the composition of ecosystems. Do these alterations matter in respect to how ecosystems operate and provide services? This book represents the initial probing of this central ques tion. It will be followed by other volumes in this series examining in depth the functional role of biodiversity in various ecosystems of the world.
The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity
The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity write by Ann P. Kinzig. This book was released on 2001. The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Does biodiversity influence how ecosystems function? Might diversity loss affect the ability of ecosystems to deliver services of benefit to humankind? Ecosystems provide food, fuel, fiber, and drinkable water, regulate local and regional climate, and recycle needed nutrients, among other things. An ecosyste's ability to sustain functioning may depend on the number of species residing in the ecosystem--its biological diversity--but this has been a controversial hypothesis. There are many unanswered questions about how and why changes in biodiversity could alter ecosystem functioning. This volume, written by top researchers, synthesizes empirical studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and extends that knowledge using a novel and coordinated set of models and theoretical approaches. These experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate that functioning usually increases with biodiversity, but also reveals when and under what circumstances other relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning might occur. It also accounts for apparent changes in diversity-functioning relationships that emerge over time in disturbed ecosystems, thereby addressing a major controversy in the field. The volume concludes with a blueprint for moving beyond small-scale studies to regional ones--a move of enormous significance for policy and conservation but one that will entail tackling some of the most fundamental challenges in ecology. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Juan Armesto, Claudia Neuhauser, Andy Hector, Clarence Lehman, Peter Kareiva, Sharon Lawler, Peter Chesson, Teri Balser, Mary K. Firestone, Robert Holt, Michel Loreau, Johannes Knops, David Wedin, Peter Reich, Shahid Naeem, Bernhard Schmid, Jasmin Joshi, and Felix Schläpfer.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning write by Michel Loreau. This book was released on 2002. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Increasing domination of ecosystems by humans is steadily transforming them into depauperate systems. How will this loss of biodiversity affect the functioning and stability of natural and managed ecosystems? This work provides comprehensive coverage of empirical and theoretical research.
Biodiversity in Ecosystems
Biodiversity in Ecosystems - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Biodiversity in Ecosystems write by Juan A. Blanco. This book was released on 2015-04-17. Biodiversity in Ecosystems available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The term biodiversity has become a mainstream concept that can be found in any newspaper at any given time. Concerns on biodiversity protection are usually linked to species protection and extinction risks for iconic species, such as whales, pandas and so on. However, conserving biodiversity has much deeper implications than preserving a few (although important) species. Biodiversity in ecosystems is tightly linked to ecosystem functions such as biomass production, organic matter decomposition, ecosystem resilience, and others. Many of these ecological processes are also directly implied in services that the humankind obtains from ecosystems. The first part of this book will introduce different concepts and theories important to understand the links between ecosystem function and ecosystem biodiversity. The second part of the book provides a wide range of different studies showcasing the evidence and practical implications of such relationships.
