Ecosystem Classification for Environmental Management

Frans Klijn

ISBN 10: 9048144205 / ISBN 13: 9789048144204

Published by Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands Apr 2011, 2011

About this Item

Neuware -When Lovelock published his 'Gaia', it was for many people quite a relief. We would not be able to destroy life on earth. Lovelock illustrated this argument with a wealth of mechanistic feedback processes, as we know them to occur in ecosystems. These feedback processes would, somehow, lead the earth as a whole into a new equilibrium. An equilibrium with life within, be it in an entirely changed environment. This is, indeed, let us be earnest: a functioning ecosystem. But what kind of ecosystem The Gaia-hypothesis triggered a great deal of thought and discussion about what we actually require as an environment. Bio diversity as an abbreviation of biotic diversity has since become the focal point of societal concern. But again, when we think about it, we are not only interested in the sheer number of species on earth. We also have ')ther interests: nearby, in our backyards, in the surrounding countryside, and on the various locations where we would like to spend our holidays. We also want to preserve rare or characteristic species just for their own sake. In fact, we want species in viable populations to be part of communities that are self-maintaining in environments where they belong. We know we cannot ask for this without protecting their environment, which is also our environment. This is where the next fashionable term emerges: sustainability.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9789048144204

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ecosystem Classification for Environmental Management
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands Apr 2011
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9048144205
• ISBN 13: 9789048144204
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 155H x 18D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 155 millimeters height by 18 millimeters depth
• Weight: 499 grams

About this title

Synopsis

When Lovelock published his 'Gaia', it was for many people quite a relief. We would not be able to destroy life on earth. Lovelock illustrated this argument with a wealth of mechanistic feedback processes, as we know them to occur in ecosystems. These feedback processes would, somehow, lead the earth as a whole into a new equilibrium. An equilibrium with life within, be it in an entirely changed environment. This is, indeed, let us be earnest: a functioning ecosystem. But what kind of ecosystem? The Gaia-hypothesis triggered a great deal of thought and discussion about what we actually require as an environment. Bio­ diversity as an abbreviation of biotic diversity has since become the focal point of societal concern. But again, when we think about it, we are not only interested in the sheer number of species on earth. We also have ')ther interests: nearby, in our backyards, in the surrounding countryside, and on the various locations where we would like to spend our holidays. We also want to preserve rare or characteristic species just for their own sake. In fact, we want species in viable populations to be part of communities that are self-maintaining in environments where they belong. We know we cannot ask for this without protecting their environment, which is also our environment. This is where the next fashionable term emerges: sustainability.